**r^ f&^ -jtel
 
 RUBLIC SKRVICKS 
 
 HON. JAMES G. BLAINE 
 
 THE BRILLIANT ORATOR AND SAGACIOUS STATESMAN. THE BOSOM FRIEND OF 
 
 THE LAMENTED GARFIELD, AND NOW THE CHOICE OF THE NATION 
 
 FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. PREPARED WITH 
 
 GREAT CARE BY HIS INTIMATE FRIEND AND ASSOCIATE, 
 
 H. J. RAMSDELL, ESQ. 
 
 For twenty, years a, prominent Journalist at Washington. 
 
 ALSO THE LIFE OF THE COURAGEOUS SOLDIER, DISTINGUISHED SENATOR AND 
 NOMINEE FOR THE VICE-PRESIDENCY, 
 
 GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN, 
 
 BY BKN. PERLE^Y POORS, 
 
 Author of Life of Napoleon, Gen. Bumside, &c., for fifty years a popular 
 
 Journalist at Washington, and twenty-two years an 
 
 Officer of the U. S. Senate. 
 
 PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 W. W. WILLIAMS, PUBLISHER: 
 
 CLEVELAND, OHIO.
 
 Copyright. According to Act of Congress, 
 
 By Ai.i KI-:D HAMILTON, 
 
 [884.
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 CAMPAIGN Biographies are a national neces- 
 sity. Why? Curiosity concerning candidates 
 prompts many persons to secure and read them, 
 but there is a broader and deeper reason for 
 their production than the demand of mere curi- 
 osity. 
 
 Our Presidents are far from being absolute 
 monarchs. The humblest citizen has no need to 
 stand in personal fear of our Chief Magistrate. 
 He is a citizen among his fellow-citizens, like them 
 amenable to the laws of the land. And yet the 
 Presidency is no sinecure. The President is not 
 a figure head to the good "Ship of State." Nor 
 is he the commander. He is rather the pilot. 
 His hand is on the helm. He directs the move- 
 ments so long as they be presumptively right and 
 reasonably safe ; but there is a commander in the 
 embodied nation whose word can dismiss the 
 pilot, and whose might can control the ship, 
 whether it be for her safety or her loss. The 
 people know their power. They make and
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 unmake Presidents. But they do both these 
 duties with reason and for cause, and this is 
 why the thoughtful people will read about the 
 candidates, for whom their votes are asked. 
 Here rests, therefore, the national necessity for 
 Campaign Biographies. 
 
 And this Biography of the Republican candi- 
 dates for our highest national offices is a most 
 worthy one? Long before the nominating Con- 
 vention met, careful inquiry was entered into to 
 discover the certainties, the probabilities, and the 
 possibilities of the approaching contest. The cer- 
 tainties were few; the possibilities were unlimited. 
 But all promising lines were worked, and, at no 
 small expense, material was gathered concerning 
 every probable candidate. In none of these 
 experimental efforts was there better success than 
 in the case of those on whom the uncertain 
 honors fell at last. 
 
 Forwarded beyond all compeers by this prelim- 
 inary work, and vigorously pushed, night and 
 day, by competent authors, this Biography of the 
 Republican nominees is believed to be the first 
 in the field, and wholly worthy of the nation's 
 patronage. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFATORY . . 1-18 
 
 BIOGRAPHY OF HON. JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 "Blood" Maternal Ancestry Paternal Ancestry Ancestral Posses- 
 sions Revolutionary Record Birth-place Early " Schooling " 
 Youthful Sports Early Straggles At Lancaster, Ohio The Young 
 Collegian College Life A Hero Graduation "The Duty of an 
 Educated American " Prophetic Utterances Teaching Western 
 Military Institute Philadelphia Institution for the Blind Miss Stan- 
 wood Removal to Maine The Kennebec Journal Growing Repu- 
 tation In the Legislature Chairman of the State Committee The 
 Portland Advertiser An Author I 9~39 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 
 
 Growing Popularity in Maine Fremont's Nomination Elaine's First 
 Speech His First Public Office To the Legislature Speaker To 
 Congress Blaine and President Lincoln At His Desk Drafted 
 Reelected to Congress Leader of the House Admirable Work Won- 
 derful Endurance Habits of Life' Quick Perception Good Judgment 
 Firm Decision 4-5 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Keen Humor Quaint Anecdote General Literature Modern Oratory 
 Coolness Readiness Repartee Courage Candor Clearness of 
 Statement Satire Graciousness Courtesy Studiousness Persis- 
 tency Organizing Victor}' Dignified Religious Associations Diplo- 
 matic 51 65
 
 8 < <>N rra 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. 
 
 Hlainc's Love of Home An American Letter to Washington, Pa. 
 Early Popularity Undiminished Opinions from Augusta "Unstinted 
 Praise " " A Model of Honor " Absolute Unanimity Practical Gen- 
 erosity Dr. Ecob's Statement Conscience in a Vote .... 66-76 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 
 
 .vn Nation First American in all Aspirations Active Patriotism 
 Steamers to Brazil Subsidizing Steamers " Everything American " 
 Shrinking Trade Tributary to Great Britain Hi-metallic Currency 
 Trade Dollars 77-^5 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE.. 
 
 Accustomed to Work Sympathy with Workers Favoring American 
 Industry Elevating Laborers Urging Honest Money Greenback De- 
 lusions Fair Wages Independent Farmers The Newer States 
 Coolie Labor Labor-Saving Machinery Unpaid Toilsmen . . 86-96 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE ORATOR. 
 
 His Public Speaking Personal Appearance Spirit Garfield's Eulogy 
 A Magnificent Peroration Directness Force Pointedness His Poli- 
 tical Creed 97-102 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. 
 
 A High Office British Speakership American Speakership Its Pecu- 
 liar Difficulties Immense Responsibility Committees Chairman- 
 ships Erratic Members Assigning the Floor In the Chair 
 Starting Business Avoiding Confusion Dexterity Fairness 
 Friendliness Sagacity Retirement from the Speakership Closing 
 Address Salvos of Applause 103-115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DARKER DAYS. 
 
 Gathering Clouds Opposing Combinations " The Rebel Brigadiers " 
 Leading the Minority " Drawing the Fire " General Amnesty The 
 Force Bill Responsibility of Jeff Davis Opposed by Senator Hill 
 The " Maine Yankee" Skimiishint,' with " vSunset" Cox Garfield in 
 the Fight Charge of the " Plumed Knight " A Parliamentary Stroke
 
 CONTENTS. 9 
 
 An Era of Investigations Aspersions Multiplying Personal Explana- 
 tion Uncomfortable "Flea Hunt" "Dragnet" Resolutions Grand 
 Explosion Mr. Mulligan "The Knight" Again in the Saddle A 
 Suppressed Dispatch " Schoolmaster from Maine " No Condemna- 
 tion Sunstroke Convention of '76 The Popular Will De- 
 feated . . . . ... 116-144 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 Garfield and Elaine Meet Their Growing Friendship Garfield's First 
 Choice An Honorable Post A Splendid Acceptance The Terrible 
 Tragedy Confidential Relations Brief but Burdensome The Medical 
 Telegrams Perplexing Diplomacy Central American Affairs The 
 Nicaraguan Canal Clayton-Bulwer Treaty The Hegemony Peruvian 
 Affairs More Investigations A "Smelling Committee" Elaine's 
 Peace Policy 145-172 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MR. ELAINE'S HOMES. 
 
 How Eminent Men Live Dupont Circle, Washington Brick and Brown 
 Stone Exterior Interior State Street, Augusta, Me. Exterior In- 
 terior 173-181 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SEEN BY ENGLISH EYES. 
 
 London World's Correspondent Fifteenth Street, Washington House 
 Described Company Family Adornments Greeting Personal Ap- 
 pearance 182-187 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 
 
 High Order of Perception A Specious Bill Merciless Exposure Re- 
 sistless Ridicule The Real Motive Exposed Governor Kent's Opinion 
 Disparaging Questions Thad. Stevens' Opinion 188-200 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " STIRRING UP STRIFE." 
 
 A Popular Accusation Southern School-Books Arithmetical Examples 
 Rhetoric for Schools Personal Skirmishing Historic Addresses 
 Vapid Rhetoric Threatening Condemned 201-210 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WITHERING SARCASM. 
 
 Coercing the Executive Stopping Appropriations Cutting off Supplies 
 New Doctrines Dangerous Theories Prophetic Utterances Wither- 
 ing Denunciation . . 211-219
 
 IO CONTEN 1 9. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI, 
 
 IRISH-AMERICAN AND GERMAN QUESTIONS. 
 
 Scotch-Irish Ancestry Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Blaine's Letter to an 
 Irishman Prosperity of the Irish The Steubens at Yorktown Honors 
 to German Patriots Thanks from the German Emperor. . . 220-227 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 ENFRANCHISED OR DISFRANCHISED. 
 
 The Negro Voter Questions Concerning him Wrong Views The Case 
 Settled An Elevating Power Educational Test Property Test En 
 franchisement Right 228-233 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE CHINESE QUESTION. 
 
 No True Immigration Low Character of Comers Never Assimilate 
 Degrade Labor Danger Near No Official Endorsement Retalia- 
 tion 234-237 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AMERICAN SHIP BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 
 
 Dependence on England Help for Internal Improvements Great Brit- 
 ain's Example French Policy Italian Policy What to do Enter the 
 Race Curtail Naval Expenditures Subsidize American Ships Invite 
 Competition 238-247 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MUNICIPAL DEBT. 
 
 A Quadruple Burden How it Grows Debt Necessary Debts Needless 
 Results of Debt Remedies Jefferson's Rule 248-25 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 IRREDEEMABLE PAPER CURRENCY. 
 
 A Sound Financial Policy Evils of Paper Money A Forced Exception 
 Legal Tender Notes Absolute Necessity 252-254 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PURITY OF THE BALLOT BOX. 
 
 Election Frauds Black Voters Intimidated White Southern Voters Tri- 
 umphant No Abridgement Allowable Reduced Representation Fair 
 Elections Everywhere Peace Desired Purity Demanded Equal 
 Rights, but Nuthing More 255-262
 
 CONTENTS. I I 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AN AFTER-DINNER SPEECH. 
 
 A Crucial Test New England Dinner A Brother-in-law New Eng- 
 land Influence Abused Aspiring Serious Comments " May Flow- 
 er " Furniture Died Without the Sight 263-268 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 
 
 An Accepted Title Its Author The demand of '76 The Man who met 
 the Demand A Grand Year An Armed Warrior A Plumed Knight 
 A Shining Lance A Standard Bearer The Prince of Parliamentar- 
 ians The Leader of Leaders Knightly Deeds ...... 269-273 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OUT OF POLITICS. 
 
 Withdrawal from the Cabinet In his Pleasant Home At his 
 History No part in Politics Nominated On the Course The 
 Outlook 274-276 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 MR. BLAINE'S ASSOCIATE. 
 
 John A. Logan for Vice President His Farewell to the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee 277-282 
 
 THE NOMINATING CONVENTION. 
 
 Chapter I. The Convention 285 
 
 Chapter II. Personelle of the Convention 295 
 
 Chapter III. The Platform 322 
 
 Chapter IV. Naming the Candidates 332 
 
 Chapter V. The Choice 344 
 
 Chapter VI. Congratulations and Rejoicings 353 
 
 Chapter VII. Notifying the Candidates 367 
 
 Chapter VIII. Letters of Acceptance , , , 377
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 OUR PRESIDENTS. 
 
 1. George Washington 385 
 
 2. John Adams 399 
 
 3. Thomas Jefferson 405 
 
 4. James Madison 415 
 
 5. James Monroe 418 
 
 6. John Quincy Adams 422 
 
 7. Andrew Jackson 426 
 
 8. Martin Van Buren 433 
 
 9. William Henry Harrison 43> 
 
 10. John Tyler 440 
 
 11. James Knox Polk 444 
 
 12. Zachary Taylor 448 
 
 13. Millard Fillmore 455 
 
 14. Franklin Pierce 458 
 
 15. James Buchanan 462 
 
 16. Abraham Lincoln 467 
 
 17. Andrew Johnson 479 
 
 18. Ulysses Simpson Grant 482 
 
 19. Rutherford Birchard Hayes 494 
 
 20. James Abram Garfield 498 
 
 21. Chester Allan Arthur 529 
 
 LIFE OF SENATOR JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Boy The Student The Soldier 537-541 
 
 C H A PT E R II. 
 
 The Student The Lawyer The Legislator 542-546 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Representative in Congress Washington 549~554 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Stormy Scenes in Congress Hostilities Commenced 555-5^2 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Colonel Belmont Fort Henry. Fort Donelsou . . . . , 563-569
 
 CONTENTS. 1 3 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Brigadier-General Corinth Jackson The Patriot 57-575 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Major-General Vicksburg The Orator 576-582 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Corps Commander Kenesaw Peach Tree Creek 583-588 
 
 CHAPTER- IX. 
 The Volunteer Ezra Chapel The Champion of the Union . . . 591-596 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Civil Life The Representative in Congress 597602 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Legislator The Manager of Impeachment 603-608 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Legislator The Grand Army 609-615 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Senator The Soldiers' Friend 616-621 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Return to the Senate Republican Convention 622-626 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Soldier Statesman The Candidate 627-632 
 
 THE CITIZEN'S HAND-BOOK. 
 
 1 . Bird- Eye View of Presidential Contest 635 
 
 2. Tables of Presidential Elections 643 
 
 3. Residential Election of 1884 646 
 
 4. Qualifications of Voters 647 
 
 5. Presidents 648 
 
 6. Vice Presidents 649 
 
 7. Cabinets 649 
 
 8. Commanders of Army 655
 
 1 4 CONTENTS. 
 
 9. Commanders of Na\y 656 
 
 10. Speakers of Congress 657 
 
 n. Congressional Representation of .States 657 
 
 1 2. Supreme Court Justices 659 
 
 13. Homes of Chief Officers 660 
 
 14. Our Representatives Abroad 661 
 
 15. Representatives from Abroad 662 
 
 16. Pay of Navy Officers 663 
 
 17. Pay of Army Officers 664 
 
 18. Pensions Paid 664 
 
 19. Balance of Trade 665 
 
 20. Revenues 666 
 
 21. National Debt 667 
 
 22. Political Divisions of Congress 668 
 
 23. Constitution of the United States 669
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 HON. JAMES G. ELAINE (steel), . . . Frontispiece. 
 BIRTHPLACE OF HON. JAMES G. ELAINE, .... 23 
 WASHINGTON AND JEFFERSON COLLEGE, . . . . 33 
 
 BURIAL-PLACE OF ELAINE'S PARENTS, 69 
 
 RETIRING FROM THE SPEAKERSHIP, 113 
 
 MR. ELAINE AT GARFIELD'S ASSASSINATION, . .151 
 ELAINE'S MANSION AT WASHINGTON, D. C, . . .175 
 ELAINE'S SUMMER RESIDENCE AT AUGUSTA, ME., 179 
 
 CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON, 195 
 
 GROUND PLAN OF EXPOSITION HALL, CHICAGO, . 289 
 
 PRESIDENT CHESTER A. ARTHUR, 329 
 
 SENATOR GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, 329 
 
 SENATOR JOSEPH R. HAWLEY, 333 
 
 SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN, 337 
 
 GEN. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, 337 
 
 SECRETARY ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 341 
 
 SECRETARY WALTER Q. GRESHAM, 341 
 
 THE PRESIDENTS WASHINGTON TO HARRISON, . . 383 
 MOUNT VERNON, THE HOME OF WASHINGTON, . . 397 
 
 CARPENTER'S HALL, PHILADELPHIA, 401 
 
 INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA, 401 
 
 HOUSE WHERE " THE DECLARATION " WAS WRITTEN, 407 
 MONTICELLO, THE HOME OF JEFFERSON, . . . . 4! I 
 THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D. C., . . . . 449 
 
 EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE, 449 
 
 THE PRESIDENTS TYLER TO GRANT, 469 
 
 15
 
 1 6 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LINCOLN'S BIRTHPLACE, ELIZABETHTOWN, KY., . . 477 
 LINCOLN'S RESIDENCE AT SPRINGFIELD, ILL., . . 477 
 
 BIRTHPLACE OF GEN. GRANT, 483 
 
 PHILADELPHIA'S WELCOME TO GRANT, . . . .491 
 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, 495 
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD 499 
 
 GARFIELD'S HOME AT MENTOR, O. 503 
 
 PORTRAITS OF GARFIELD'S CABINET, 509 
 
 HON. JOHN A. LOGAN (steel) 535 
 
 MRS. SENATOR JOHN A. LOGAN 547 
 
 "ON TO RICHMOND," 559 
 
 FORT DONELSON, 567 
 
 FORT HENRY, 567 
 
 BATTLEFIELD NEAR JACKSON, Miss., 579 
 
 VlF.W IN VlCKSBURG AFTER ITS FALL 579 
 
 DEATH OF GENERAL MCPHERSON BEFORE ATLANTA, 589
 
 LIFE 
 
 JAMES G. ELAINE
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 LONG usage has established a custom that can- 
 not be broken at this late day. In biographical 
 writing the author must give dates and facts so 
 elaborately and so accurately that no possibility of 
 dispute can arise. A great man's birth, his early 
 life, his struggles with wealth or poverty, his final 
 triumph all must be laid open to the public. It 
 is not always the poor who have their trials in 
 early life. It was said ages ago that human 
 existence was merely a world of compensations. 
 What money can buy, the poor lad often needs ; 
 but he often possesses traits of character, inde- 
 pendent thought and stalwart energy that no 
 money can pay for. As a general proposition it 
 is as .hard to struggle against great wealth as 
 against close poverty. A thoughtful observer of 
 human life and human frailties will say that the 
 carefully reared poor boy has the advantage in 
 the life fight over the boy who can always have 
 whatever money can buy. Necessity is the great 
 teacher and the great example. It is harder for 
 the rich boy to rise in honest endeavor than the 
 poor boy, for with the poor boy it is necessity, 
 
 2 19
 
 20 LIFE OF JAMKS <;. IH.AIM.. 
 
 while with the rich boy it is a sort of amusement. 
 To his mind his future is secure ; he knows he 
 need not work for his living ; he feels no anxiety, 
 and his future in ease and luxury is established 
 beyond a question. 
 
 And so we pass to the life of the candidate of 
 the Republican party in the great election of 
 1884, and in his life is illustrated the principle 
 suggested in the brief remarks above. 
 
 James Gillespie Elaine, who was nominated by 
 the Republican party assembled in convention at 
 Chicago, June 3d, for President of the United 
 States, was born on the 3ist of January, 1830. 
 Good, solid Americans, the men who till the soil, 
 who contribute to the material prosperity of the 
 country in other walks of life, who add to the 
 glory of our institutions and have made us re- 
 spected as a nation, have very little regard for 
 what is known as "blood." As a people, we are 
 inclined to take a man as we find him. A noble- 
 man may be found behind a homespun jacket, and 
 a noble intellect may be covered by a rusty hat. 
 On the other hand, broadcloth may cover a dis- 
 honest heart, a silk hat may crown an empty head, 
 and a great name may belong to one who has 
 never done anything praiseworthy, and who is 
 incapable of a noble aspiration. In Mr. Elaine is 
 represented both a great and honorable ancestry, 
 and the career of a boy of the people. He is 
 proud of his ancestors, as he has reason to be,
 
 AN'CESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 21 
 
 but at the same time he likes to dwell upon the 
 different phases of the struggles which brought 
 him to his present eminence. 
 
 His ancestors, both on the side of his father and 
 his mother, were of high and honorable standing. 
 His mother's name was Gillespie, and her family 
 was distinguished in Pennsylvania for many gene- 
 rations, even ante-dating the Revolution. Neal 
 Gillespie, Mr. Elaine's maternal grandfather, was 
 a man of large property, and was honored, re- 
 spected and liked by the people of the whole sur- 
 rounding country. Mr. Elaine's father (Ephraim 
 L. Elaine) was born and reared in Carlisle, Cum- 
 berland county, a beautiful village nestling in one 
 of the most picturesque valleys that the hand of 
 nature ever glorified. The father, after an extended 
 tour in Europe, South America and the West 
 Indies, returned to spend the greater portion of 
 his life in the beautiful county of Washington, 
 where he died before his son was fully grown. 
 He went to this section about iSiS, having the 
 largest landed possessions of any man of his age 
 in Western Pennsylvania, owning an estate which, 
 had it been preserved, would have amounted 
 to-day to many millions. As a single item in that 
 estate, it may be interesting to mention that, in 
 1825, Mr. Elaine's father deeded to the Econom- 
 ites the splendid tract of land on which their town, 
 with all its improvements and all its wealth, now 
 stands. The price was $25,000 for a property
 
 1. 1 IT. MK JAMi:> G. IJI.AINK. 
 
 whose value to-day, even if unimproved, would be 
 a princely fortune. There were also timber tracts 
 on the Allegheny and coal tracts on the Monon- 
 gahela, at that day of no special value, which now 
 represent large fortunes in the hands of those 
 lucky enough to hold them. Very near the large 
 tracts owned by his father and grandfather, Mr. 
 Blaine is now the possessor of one of the most 
 valuable coal properties in the Monongahela val- 
 ley. In area it is but a fraction of that which he 
 might have hoped to inherit, but in value it is 
 much greater than the whole landed estate of his 
 father fifty years ago. 
 
 Mr. Blaine's paternal great-grandfather was a 
 colonel in the Pennsylvania line in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. He was the intimate friend of Gen- 
 eral Washington, and was commissary general 
 of the northern department of Washington's 
 army. He was a man of large means, and from 
 his own purse, and from contributions obtained 
 from friends, he advanced large sums of money 
 toward purchasing supplies for the army during 
 that memorable winter at Valley Forge. Wash- 
 ington himself attributed the preservation of his 
 troops from absolute starvation to the heroic and 
 self-sacrificing efforts of Colonel Blaine. 
 
 The birth-place of the great Maine statesman 
 was Indian Hill Farm, Washington County, Pa., 
 opposite the little town of Brownsville, on the 
 Monongahela river. The home in which he first
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 25 
 
 saw the light is still standing, though it is now in 
 a hopeless state of decay. It is of stone, and was 
 built by Mr. Elaine's great-grandfather before the 
 Revolutionary war. It is said to have been the 
 first stone house built on the west bank of the 
 Monongahela river. There were no neighbors ; 
 and on that dreary, bleak and stormy morning in 
 January, fifty-four years ago, it was a struggle 
 between life and death for him whose name is 
 to-day in everybody's mouth. In all there were 
 eight children five sons and three daughters 
 born to the Blaine family ; but James, whose name 
 is now so prominent, and who has been honored 
 throughout the country for twenty years, is the 
 only one who has achieved distinction. 
 
 Mr. Blaine was very carefully educated. His 
 whole family, both on his father's and his mother's 
 side, had every advantage, and even in that early 
 day they appreciated the value of what was then 
 known as "schooling." At a considerable dis- 
 
 c5 
 
 tance from the family homestead there was a little 
 red school-house, and James began his education 
 there. He was then but six years old. Whether 
 he was bright or dull at this age cannot be dis- 
 covered now. That he would be sometime Presi- 
 dent of the United States was not contemplated, 
 and so no more attention was paid to him than to 
 any boy in school. The two teachers to whom 
 he first recited as a barefooted boy are still living. 
 One is Mary Ann Graves, who came from a
 
 26 1-IIT. OF JA.MKS C. IH.AINE. 
 
 Quaker family. She is now Mrs. Johnson, and is 
 living near Canton, Ohio. The other is Mrs. 
 Matilda Dorsey, who still remains at Brownsville. 
 He learned what he could at this country school. 
 During the vacations he played at work on the 
 old farm, which contained about five hundred 
 acres. Farming, however, was not his bent at 
 that time, though in later life he learned to appre- 
 ciate the glory of the country, and to love its mani- 
 fold beauties. He gave his idle hours to boating 
 and to horses. It was his delight to mount vicious 
 colts that no one else would trust, and among the 
 people in Washington County it is remembered 
 that Jim. Elaine always conquered every colt he 
 mounted. He had many ugly falls, and some 
 broken limbs, but he never gave up a horse that 
 he intended to "break." 
 
 Mr. Elaine's family was not what may be called 
 poor in his young days, and he never lacked the 
 necessaries of life, but he never had in his youth 
 the unlimited means which the rich man's sons 
 enjoy to-day. In this connection an extract from 
 his matchless oration on Garfield, delivered in the 
 capital, at Washington, in the presence of the 
 House of Representatives, the Senate, and the 
 principal officers of Government, may not be in- 
 appropriate, as, in a measure, his own experience 
 is therein portrayed. There were present on that 
 occasion, besides the members of both Houses of 
 Congress, the President of the United States and
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 27 
 
 his cabinet, the foreign ministers resident in 
 Washington, the judges of the highest courts, and 
 distinguished men in nearly every walk in life. 
 Speaking of Garfield's poverty, Mr. Elaine then 
 said : 
 
 " No manly man feels anything of shame in 
 looking back to early struggles with adverse 
 circumstances, and no man feels a worthier pride 
 than when he has conquered the obstacles to his 
 progress. But no one of noble mould desires to 
 be looked upon as having occupied a menial 
 position, as having been repressed by a feeling 
 of inferiority, or as having suffered the evils of 
 poverty until relief was found at the hand of 
 charity. General Garfield's youth presented no 
 hardships which family love and family energy did 
 not overcome, subjected him to no privations 
 which he did not cheerfully accept, and left no 
 memories save those which were recalled with 
 delight, and transmitted with profit and with pride." 
 
 In the same oration Mr. Elaine used the follow- 
 ing happy illustrations : 
 
 " His father dying before he was two years old, 
 Garfield's early life was one of privation, but its 
 poverty has been made indelicately and unjustly 
 prominent. Thousands of readers have imagined 
 him as the ragged, starving child, whose reality 
 too often greets the eye in the squalid sections of 
 our large cities. General Garfield's infancy and 
 youth had none of this destitution, none of these
 
 28 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAIXI-. 
 
 pitiful features appealing to the tender heart, and 
 to the open hand of charity. He was a poor boy 
 in the same sense in which Henry Clay was a 
 poor boy ; in which Andrew Jackson was a poor 
 boy ; in which Daniel Webster was a poor boy ; 
 in the sense in which a large majority of the 
 eminent men of America in all generations have 
 been poor boys. Before a great multitude, in a 
 public speech, Mr. Webster bore this testimony : 
 ' It did not happen to me to be born in a log cabin, 
 but my elder brothers and sisters were born in a 
 log cabin raised amid the snow-drifts of New 
 Hampshire, at a period so early that when the 
 smoke rose first from its rude chimney, and curled 
 over the frozen hills, there was no similar evidence 
 of a white man's habitation between it and the 
 settlements on the rivers of Canada. Its remains 
 still exist. I make to it an annual visit. I carry 
 my children to it to teach them the hardships 
 endured by the generations which have gone 
 before them. I love to dwell on the tender recol- 
 lections, the kindred ties, the early affections, and 
 the touching narratives and incidents which mingle 
 with all I know of this primitive family abode.' ' 
 
 At the age of eleven, young Elaine was sent to 
 school at Lancaster, Ohio, where he lived in the 
 family of his relative, Thomas Ewing, then Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury. At this time he was well 
 advanced in his studies. His father was a well- 
 educated man, and had taken much interest in
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 29 
 
 his son's studies, and his grandfather, Neal Gil- 
 lespie, a very able and accomplished scholar, never 
 lost sight of the young man's educational training. 
 Young Elaine was drilled in all English studies 
 by his grandfather, and from him he no doubt got 
 his taste for history, which was so early developed, 
 and the cultivation of. which he has retained and 
 practiced to the present time. At nine years of 
 age he recited to his grandfather Plutarch's Lives, 
 and it is said that at that early age the young 
 student knew Plutarch almost by heart. 
 
 When he was a little more than thirteen years 
 of age he was sent to Washington, Pa., to what 
 was then known as Washington College. He 
 was large for his age, and was physically angular ; 
 but his earnest face and his determination to know 
 whatever belonged to his new position, gave him 
 a prominent place at once among his school- 
 fellows. He was a hard student, and it was not 
 long before ? he was accorded the first place in 
 scholarship, and was the acknowledged leader in 
 everything that related to his class. Because he 
 was not always "moping" and star-gazing when 
 away from his studies, many thought he did little 
 in the way of study. He was always first in every- 
 thing, from the time he entered college until his 
 graduation. He excelled especially in literature 
 and mathematics. 
 
 A college mate of Mr. Elaine's, who was sub- 
 sequently a distinguished officer in the Confeder-
 
 3O LITE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 ate army, gives some interesting particulars of the 
 college life of the now prominent- statesman. 
 These points, though not wholly agreeing with 
 some here recorded, are given as throwing light 
 on those early days. "At the college," says this 
 biographer, "with two or three hundred students 
 from all sections of the country, Elaine was from 
 his first entrance a leader. Endowed with a 
 splendid physique, he was foremost in all athletic 
 sports. He is not remembered as a hard student 
 among his classmates, as one who burned the mid- 
 night oil. It was not necessary for him to do this, 
 as he learned everything quickly and easily, and his 
 standing in his classes was always among the very 
 first. In the annual commencements and the 
 frequent contests of the rival literary societies of 
 the college, he was never conspicuous as a de- 
 bater or wrangler, but he was known and acknow- 
 ledged as the power that managed and controlled 
 all these things. Goethe has said* 'One builds 
 his talents in the stillnesses and builds his char- 
 acter in the storms of the world.' 
 
 "To the new boys and young freshmen Elaine 
 was always a hero. To them he was uniformly 
 kind, ever ready to assist and advise them, and to 
 make smooth and pleasant their initiation into 
 college life. His handsome person and neat 
 attire; his ready sympathy and prompt assistance; 
 his -frank, generous nature, and his brave, manly 
 bearing, made him the best-known, the best-loved
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 31 
 
 and the most popular boy at college. He was 
 the arbiter among younger boys in all their dis- 
 putes, and the authority with those of his own age 
 on all questions. He was always for the 'under 
 dog in the fight.' Like most college boys, he 
 had his sobriquet. Owing to the fact that he was 
 possessed of a somewhat prominent, though 
 shapely, proboscis, he received the appellation of 
 'Nosey Elaine,' which clung to him through his 
 entire college life. His was one of those noses that 
 would have been the pride and admiration of 
 Napoleon I, and would doubtless . have ranked 
 high and gained great glory among the other 
 prominent noses, whose owners were selected by 
 Napoleon to form the shining ranks of his favorite 
 generals, as a prominent nose was considered by 
 him a certain indication of genius and courage. 
 After the usual term at college he graduated with 
 distinguished honor, and carried with him into the 
 world the enduring affection of all those who knew 
 him and with whom he was associated in his alma 
 mater." 
 
 ,Mr. Blaine graduated when a little over seven- 
 teen years of age. His class numbered thirty- 
 three. In speaking of his college days, Mr. 
 Blaine says that he was obliged to study hard, 
 and that he was very quiet and an industrious 
 student. His class was composed of young men 
 who were determined to succeed, and the emula- 
 tion was great, though friendly. The students
 
 32 1. 1 IK OF JAMES C. I'.I.AIXK. 
 
 did not strive to see how little they could do, but 
 their determination was to excel in everything". 
 So Mr. Blaine's college days were not holidays, 
 as has been said. He was one of three who took 
 the honors. He was selected to deliver the 
 English salutatory and also an oration. The sub- 
 ject of the latter was " The Duty of an Educated 
 American." The oration of nearly forty years ago, 
 viewed in the light of to-day, is rather remarkable 
 far a boy of seventeen. It is to be regretted that 
 the consent of the distinguished orator cannot be 
 obtained to the publication of the whole address. 
 The prediction in regard to the Pacific slope, that 
 magnificent continent in itself, was prophetic, 
 and is here given : 
 
 "The sphere of labor for the educated American 
 is continually enlarging. But recently we added 
 the vast domain of the Lone Star Republic to our 
 glorious union. The war to which that act gave 
 rise, is now in victorious progress, and will not 
 end without another great accession of territory 
 possibly carrying our flag beyond the Great 
 American Desert to the shores of the Pacific sea. 
 Where our armies march population follows, and 
 the field of duty for the scholar is to be conti- 
 nental in extent, and as varied as the demands of 
 a progressive civilization." 
 
 We have only to bear in mind the fact that this 
 address was delivered in September, 1847, tne 
 very year that gold was discovered in California.
 
 Ill I G|yl IS 
 
 r* T^L nr- 1 =i=g- mill mm mil if
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 35 
 
 Those then members of the faculty of Wash- 
 ington College are all dead, but nearly all of Mr. 
 Elaine's school fellows are still alive. At the 
 quarter-centennial of the class, held in 1872, 
 twenty-nine of the thirty-three were living, and 
 every one of them was a man of position and 
 character in his community. While. Mr. Blainc 
 was in the House of Representatives there were 
 two of his classmates also members, John V. 
 Le Moyne, of Illinois, and William S. Moore, of 
 Pennsylvania, who represented the old Washing- 
 ton County District. At the same time, James 
 H. Hopkins, of Pittsburg, Pa., and George W. 
 Morgan, of Ohio, both Washington College stu- 
 dents, were also members of the House. 
 
 From this point in life Mr. Elaine began to 
 carve out his own future. In those days the 
 young college graduate did not loaf about home, 
 a village beau, smoking cigarettes and devoting 
 most of his time to his hair at least Elaine did 
 not. He struck out at once to seek his fortune. 
 It was a very lucky strike for him, for if he had 
 not struck out as he did, and had not gone to Ken- 
 tucky, and had not located near Millersburg, he 
 might never have met Miss Harriet Stanwood, a 
 woman who will " do him good, and not evil, all 
 the days of his life," 
 
 Mr. Elaine, after he left college, went to Blue 
 Lick Springs, Kentucky, and became one of the 
 professors in the Western Military Institute. In
 
 OF JAMES C,. BLAIXE. 
 
 this school there were about 450 boys. A gentle- 
 man now living in Washington (who was also, by 
 the way, an officer in the Confederate service) 
 was a student in the school. He well remembers 
 Elaine, and describes him as a thin, handsome, 
 earnest young man, with the same fascinating 
 manners he has now. He was very popular with 
 the boys, who trusted him and made friends with 
 him from the first. He knew the given names of 
 every one, and he -knew their shortcomings and 
 their strong points, and to this day he asks about 
 this boy and that who went to school at Blue Lick 
 Springs, then a very popular watering-place. 
 
 It was at Millersburg, twenty miles distant, that 
 Mr. Elaine .first met Miss Stanwood, who 
 belonged to one of the great families of Maine, 
 and she afterwards became his wife. Elaine, after 
 an experience of a year or fwo, discovered that 
 he was not born to be a school teacher, and he 
 returned to Pennsylvania, where he taught and 
 studied law. 
 
 In Philadelphia an interesting memorial of his 
 vocation as teacher is preserved in the form of a 
 manuscript history of the Institution for the 
 Instruction of the Blind, in which Mr. Elaine 
 taught for two years. It is written throughout in a 
 neat, angular hand, free from blots and erasures, 
 and complete from the founding of the school to 
 the day on which the writer resigned. Dr. 
 Chapin, the president, bears high testimony to
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 37 
 
 the young professor's capacity and fidelity, and 
 indicates that his strong, positive nature, argu- 
 mentative turn and taste for research were already 
 manifest. 
 
 In 1853 he removed to Maine, and located at 
 Augusta, the birth-place of his wife. On arriving 
 here, Mr. Elaine purchased a half interest in the 
 Kennebec Journal, and that natural bent of his 
 mind for the career of journalism which had before 
 been displayed only in occasional articles, showed 
 its full force. It led him thenceforward to discard 
 the profession of teaching, upon which he had 
 entered with such promise in Philadelphia and 
 Kentucky, and also the practice of law, in which 
 he was also assured of success. 
 
 Mr. Elaine's preparation for his new work on 
 the Journal was in every way characteristic. He 
 took down the files, or bound volumes of the 
 paper for past years, and plunged into an earnest 
 study of their contents, in which he persevered 
 until he had thoroughly mastered not merely the 
 tone and position of the paper (which was the 
 official organ at first of the Whig and then of the 
 Republican party), but also the minutiae of poli- 
 tics and public affairs in every county in the 
 State. Only his prodigious memory, which is a 
 quality that cannot be overstated in depicting 
 him, his intuitive grasp of facts, and his keen 
 comprehension, enabled him fully to accomplish 
 this feat ; but it also serves to illustrate afresh in
 
 38 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 his case the old quotation, "genius is only an 
 infinite capacity for hard work." 
 
 Thus equipped, he threw himself into the midst 
 of his new duties with his usual energy. The 
 Journal was made a thoroughly live and aggres- 
 sive paper, but no one could deny that it was at 
 the same time eminently just both in praise and 
 blame. By its vigor and fearlessness, combined 
 with its young editor's rare insight into men and 
 affairs, it became a power in the State, and 
 Mr. Elaine's reputation spread into adjoining 
 commonwealths as that of a man rapidly rising 
 into prominence. The substantial success of 
 the paper was also very marked under his 
 management, and it was never more pros- 
 perous. 
 
 During the four years that Mr. Elaine spent in 
 this active and exciting conduct of a leading polit- 
 ical journal, he still found time, with his habits of 
 rapid work, for keeping up his studies of history 
 and general literature, studies which his powers 
 of mind made very fruitful. He has a command 
 of both these subjects, fresh and unobscured in 
 his mind, and ready to be put into instant use, 
 which makes him remarkable among his compeers 
 in political life. 
 
 In 1858, Mr. Elaine was elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, and also made Chairman of the Republican 
 State Committee, honors to which his powers as 
 a political organizer and leader already fully enti-
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 39 
 
 tied him. He remained Chairman by successive 
 elections for many years. 
 
 On relinquishing the conduct of the Kennebec 
 Journal, he was beset with offers on every side, 
 by those who appreciated his talents and wished 
 to gain the aid of them. He finally accepted the 
 editorship of the Portland Advertiser \ though still 
 continuing his residence at Augusta. 
 
 About this time, he made his first essay in a 
 production more permanent than the day-to-day 
 writing of journalism, and like his first manu- 
 script and recent volume, it was historical in char- 
 acter, being a life of Hon. Luther Severance, who 
 had established the Kennebec Journal nearly 
 thirty years before. In a pamphlet of forty pages 
 the biographer set forth with his unfailing literary 
 skill the main facts in the interesting career of 
 this widely-known and very popular New England 
 journalist, who was also minister to the Hawaiian 
 Kingdom under President Taylor in 1850. The 
 work was received with great favor.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 
 
 GREAT men are sometimes beholden to occasion 
 for the development of their qualities. Mr. Blaine 
 had attained prominence in his adopted State, not 
 only as a writer and journalist, but also as a 
 political manager, before his capacity for public 
 speaking was suspected, perhaps even by himself. 
 It was known, of course, that in addition to his 
 command of the pen, he was fluent and effective 
 in private conference, could express his views 
 clearly and carry his point in an argument, but he 
 had rather an aversion to the platform, or, at all 
 events, a diffidence that kept him from appearing 
 there. In 1856 he was a delegate to the memor- 
 able Convention at Philadelphia which nominated 
 Fremont. On his return to Augusta, at a mass 
 meeting held to ratify the choice, some of the old 
 citizens contrived to get him upon the stand and 
 put him forward simply to tell the story of the 
 Convention, in response to a general request. 
 The congenial task soon warmed him to his work ; 
 he found confidence and words together, and the 
 maiden speech of his public career was a pro- 
 nounced success. From this time on there was no 
 40
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 41 
 
 thought of confining his labors to the sanctum 
 or the council-chamber. He made speeches in 
 nearly every part of the State, and was heartily 
 greeted as a solid and convjncing " stump " orator, 
 acquitting himself in this undertaking, as in all the 
 others that have fallen to his lot, in a manner 
 easily the first among all competitors. His aid 
 was eagerly enlisted in subsequent campaigns, 
 but it may be remarked that this never led him to 
 make his oratory a matter of price. His efforts 
 were given freely and spontaneously, for the good 
 of the cause, and he would not accept pay or 
 allow a charge to be made for hearing him. 
 
 The first public office held by Mr. Elaine came 
 to him in an exceptional way. In making the 
 newspaper under his control thoroughly alive and 
 useful, he had occasion to criticise the penal and 
 reformatory institutions in Maine, and expose 
 their lax and inefficient management, under an 
 antiquated system which needed reform. As he 
 never spoke without entire command of the facts 
 and justice upon his side, this well-sustained attack 
 compelled attention by the authorities of the State, 
 arousing, as it did, enlightened public opinion to 
 some degree of excitement. The late Lot M. 
 Morrill, who was then Governor, took an adroit, 
 and, as it turned out, very beneficial method of 
 silencing the damaging fire of criticism. As if to 
 say, "You seem to know more of this than we 
 do," he threw the responsibility upon the young
 
 42 I.IKE OF JAMES G. BLAIM-. 
 
 editor himself, by appointing him a Commissioner 
 to examine the prisons and reformatories of Maine 
 and other States, and suggest what improvements 
 were needed in the former. Mr. Elaine accepted 
 the important trust, and entered upon it in a 
 manner worthy of himself. He traveled through 
 fifteen of the commonwealths of the Union, closely 
 observing their methods of dealing with the 
 vicious, and made an elaborate report, embracing 
 many recommendations founded upon his keen, 
 practical judgment. These were largely adopted 
 and enforced. As a result, the institutions he had 
 denounced were put upon a sound and paying 
 basis, upon which they have ever since remained. 
 It was in 1858 that Mr. Elaine was sent to the 
 Legislature, where he was to pass a four years' 
 apprenticeship in the science of legislation in the 
 stirring period just before and including the out- 
 break of the war. After service on important 
 committees, he was twice elected Speaker of the 
 lower House. Even at this comparatively early 
 age, a little more than completing his third decade, 
 he showed his genius for Parliamentary law and 
 procedure, and his tact in the management of a 
 deliberative assembly. Fortunate, indeed, must 
 have been the legislature which enjoyed the ser- 
 vices of James G. Elaine as presiding officer. 
 The fame of his short career in this capacity is 
 still affectionately preserved in the State, and 
 spoken of as a standard of comparison which his
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 43 
 
 successors may hope to approach but not to 
 equal. 
 
 It came quite naturally that in 1862 he should 
 emerge into the wider field of the Federal Con- 
 gress. The full gravity of "storm and stress " 
 epoch of the great Rebellion began to be fully 
 appreciated, and the States were sending up their 
 strongest men to the National Councils to grap- 
 ple with the problems of armament, defense, the 
 sustaining of the nation's credit and the other 
 
 o 
 
 emergencies of vast and unexpected civil war. 
 General Garfield was recalled from the glorious 
 front of battle, sorely against his will, to bear a 
 more arduous duty in meeting the secret foes of 
 the Union in the halls of the Capitol. Thaddeus 
 Stevens, John A. Bingham, Boutwell, Conkling, 
 Julian, Hayes, and others who were afterwards to 
 play more noted, but sometimes less noble parts, 
 then mostly in the first flush of their strength and 
 manhood, and united by generous enthusiasm in 
 one great cause, were there. The election of 
 Mr. Elaine could not be otherwise than gratifying 
 to his friend, President Lincoln, who leaned upon 
 him almost implicitly, in regard to the political 
 movement and sentiments in the far Northern 
 Pine-Tree State, which was furnishing, without 
 stint, her means and the strength of her stalwart 
 sons by land and sea to the defense of the 
 Union. 
 
 During his first year in Congress and part of
 
 44 LIFE OK JAMMS G. DLAINK. 
 
 the second, Mr. Blaine devoted himself entirely 
 to close observation of the occurrences which 
 passed before him. The casual spectator would 
 have seen at his desk only a young man of some- 
 what notable appearance, his dark hair and beard 
 still unsnowed by time and care, with hawk-like 
 glance following every detail of the public busi- 
 ness, and in other respects, simply loyal to the 
 lead of the eminent men on his side of the House, 
 who soon came to know and rely upon him, if they 
 had not previously done so. 
 
 About this time ensued an episode which may 
 be mentioned not for its intrinsic importance, but 
 because malicious tongues have dwelt upon it, 
 and because there is nothing which needs to be 
 covered up or slurred over in the life of the 
 Republican candidate. Congress passed a con- 
 scription law, for which Mr. Blaine voted, and in 
 which there was singularly enough, no exemption 
 of Senators and Representatives from the draft. 
 His name went into the box with the rest in his 
 district, and was one of the first to be drawn. 
 What was he to do ? The brilliant orator and 
 statesman, whose organizing powers were so much 
 needed in the civil contests at home, would have 
 been sadly and absurdly lost to the cause, tramp- 
 ing through the far South with a musket over his 
 shoulder. If he used his influence to secure a 
 commission, as he might easily have done, a raw 
 and inexperienced officer would have displaced
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 45 
 
 some one better fitted for military command. 
 Mr. Elaine's abundant courage needed no proof 
 then or at any time afterward. Instead of pleading 
 any exemption, he saw that a recruit was secured 
 with his own means to fill the place in the quota 
 of Maine, and continued the legislative work to 
 which his country had given him a prior call. 
 
 When re-elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, 
 Mr. Elaine laid aside by degrees his role of 
 reserve and observation, and moved up to the 
 position to which his wonderful gifts entitled him. 
 He was still a young man, but with sagacity and 
 indeed experience far beyond most of his elders 
 in years. He, as before said, was the trusted 
 friend of the President, in whose second candi- 
 dacy and election, as in his first, he materially 
 aided. The gradual withdrawal of the elder men, 
 either by death or by promotion to the Senate, 
 gave the young blood in the House a chance to 
 assert itself without ungraciousness, and it was 
 by normal growth, and not by usurpation or audac- 
 ity, that Mr. Elaine found himself before the end 
 of his third term regarded as the leader of the 
 majority. When the Forty-first Congress met, 
 the choice fell upon him, by common consent, for 
 the important post of the Speakership, and he 
 advanced to the place to which nearly all his pre- 
 paration had tended, 
 
 The fame of his six years' service in this exalted 
 station is the world's property. It was not a chair
 
 46 LIKE OV JAMKS C. 15LAINE. 
 
 of roses, or at least the roses were thickly set with 
 thorns. It is a fierce light which beats upon the 
 Speaker's dais, and Mr. Elaine was too fearless 
 and positive a man not to meet all the responsi- 
 bilities of his post to the utmost. He held the 
 balance with a firm hand between his own party, 
 accustomed to power since the war and impatient 
 of check, and a growing and turbulent minority, 
 led by able men, and reckless in both legiti- 
 mate and illegitimate opposition. One day the 
 Speaker would be assailed by that lawless guerilla, 
 "Ben." Butler, then posing as a Radical of the 
 Radicals ; the next day, or for a number of days, 
 the Democrats would be "filibustering" by tactics 
 of delay against some measure obnoxious to them, 
 under the leadership of Mr. Randall, Mr. Cox and 
 others, masters of all the arts of irritation and 
 bedevilment, of an adversary. 
 
 Mr. Elaine's sheer endurance in this as in 
 many other crises was something to attract admir- 
 ation and surprise. He always appeared in the 
 Speaker's chair fresh, alert and even smiling ; his 
 voice never broke, nor did his hand falter, with 
 all the strain to which he was subjected ; and 
 after remaining in his place for hours and hours, 
 until the members upon the floor, though 
 relieving each other often, and using all possible 
 means to keep up strength, were hoarse and 
 exhausted with fatigue, he would stroll home 
 with his usual interest in the sights and sounds
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 47 
 
 around him, take some very light refreshment, and 
 proceed to make up his arrears of sleep. It may 
 here be recorded, that during Mr. Elaine's whole 
 service of six years as Speaker, he was never 
 absent a day from his post. 
 
 The same trait was afterward visible in the 
 extraordinary forty-eight hours' session in which 
 the Senate, regardless of its usual steady habits 
 and the age of many of its members, once 
 indulged during his term there. He stayed the 
 proceedings through, and after this long vigil, 
 when his brother Senators emerged broken 
 down either by their arduous efforts in debate 
 or other causes, he moved off with almost 
 boyish lightness, conversing interestedly with 
 friends. 
 
 This endurance is not merely the gift of 
 nature, the result of his grand physique. Mr. 
 Elaine has considered it a part of his duty in pub- 
 lic life to keep himself up to the maximum of effi- 
 ciency, to offer to his constituents and the country 
 only the efforts of a sound mind in a sound body. 
 With this object he has not merely refrained from 
 damaging excess, which indeed would be repellent 
 to him, but he attends to those details of hygiene 
 and exercise, which great men are prone to con- 
 sider beneath them, training himself, as it were, 
 like an athlete to run the race or bear the bur- 
 dens imposed upon him. It may be noticed, in 
 studying his career, that he has probably lost less
 
 48 LIFE OF JAMKS <;. DI.AINK. 
 
 time by sickness or debility than any public man 
 that can be mentioned. 
 
 His temperance may be referred to in the same 
 connection. He never took a drink of the so- 
 called " hard liquors," whisky, brandy, or other 
 spirits in his life, and probably does not know the 
 taste of them. He is unaffectedly simple in his 
 habits, in food as in dress, and, without making a 
 parade of rule and system, works, sleeps and 
 recreates, when not interrupted by some demand 
 that'it would be wrong to neglect, with the regu- 
 larity of a day-laborer or a monk. This may not 
 wholly please those who think that great powers 
 should always be accompanied with a kind of wild 
 license or excess, and that a man of affairs should 
 be exempted from all the restraints of common 
 and well-ordered lives ; but sensible people will 
 not be apt to think less of Mr. Elaine on account 
 of these habits. 
 
 He displayed, of course, qualities higher than 
 endurance in the Speaker's chair. His wisdom 
 and honesty in keeping clear of the temporary 
 madness of the "salary grab bill," when so many 
 reputable men seemed to be thrown off their bal- 
 ance by the prospect of a few thousand dollars 
 back pay more than that to which they were enti- 
 tled, may be cited as an instance. It will be 
 remembered that on the ist of March, 1873, tne 
 bill was before the House increasing the salary 
 of the President to $50,000, the Justices of the
 
 POLITICAL AND OFFICIAL CAREER. 49 
 
 Supreme Court, Vice President, Speaker and 
 members of the Cabinet to $10,000 ; and mem- 
 bers of Congress to $6,500, with the proviso that 
 the increase should begin with the other officers 
 on the 4th of March, 1873, but with Senators 
 and Representatives from the beginning of the 
 existing Congress. Mr. Elaine readily detected 
 the bearing of the measure. He called the atten- 
 tion of the House to the fact that upon the last 
 previous increase of salaries, that of the Speaker 
 was adjusted on the same plan as that of the Vice 
 President and members of the Cabinet. He 
 thought that adjustment should not be disturbed, 
 and he therefore asked unanimous consent to 
 insert the word "hereafter" in reference to the 
 Speaker's pay. 
 
 Mr. Randall objected, and Mr. S. S. Cox 
 remarked, " That saves the reputation of the 
 House." 
 
 Mr. Elaine was of no mind to shoulder any part 
 of the odium he saw the House was incurring. 
 He earnestly appealed to Mr. Randall to withdraw 
 the objection, and, as it was scarcely courteous to 
 thrust upon an officer money which he insisted 
 on declining, Mr. Randall consented. The Speaker 
 promptly interlined the saving word. Awaking 
 to the virtual repudiation thus made of the House's 
 action, Mr. Farnsworth hastily interposed another 
 objection, but too late. The Speaker ruled him 
 out of order, and, having thus cut himself clear
 
 5O LIKE OF JA.MKS G. HI. AIM:. 
 
 of it without showing any open disrespect to 
 the House or his party associates, put the bill 
 to a vote. The effect which its adoption 
 produced upon public opinion need not be here 
 detailed.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 THIS seems an appropriate place to speak of 
 some of those elements of character which have 
 given Mr. Elaine a general popularity very rare 
 in the case of one so aggressive and so devoted 
 to principle. 
 
 One of these traits for which he has not been 
 generally credited, though one of the most attrac- 
 tive, is his keen humor. It would be strange if 
 a man of such wide and varied gifts lacked this 
 one in his make-up, but Mr. Elaine has always 
 kept his nimble wit in such subjection to his more 
 solid qualities that he has wholly escaped the 
 dangerous reputation of the jester, and in public 
 life only the lambent play of a sarcasm, as fleet as 
 lightning, gives token of an almost steady illumi- 
 nation that is reserved for the amenities of private 
 life. 
 
 Intimacy with Mr. Elaine would well repay a 
 Boswell or a gleaner of table-talk, but his pub- 
 lished speeches and debates would have to be 
 carefully searched for the quick flashes of merri- 
 ment which discomfited a troublesome adversary, 
 or established the orator's position triumphantly, 
 
 51
 
 52 I UK OF JA.MKS G. BLAINK. 
 
 and then they would suffer by being detached 
 from the context and the occasion. Mr. Blaine's 
 characteristic readiness and decision of speech 
 are well exhibited in all of them. 
 
 He has a fund of quaint anecdotes, almost equal 
 to that of President Lincoln himself, which he can 
 tell with inimitable effect, or use briefly to clinch 
 an argument or illustrate a point. 
 
 In a debate with Senator Thurman over the 
 troublesome question of the debt of the Pacific 
 Railroads, Mr. Blaine remarked: ''The Senator 
 says that if they would agree to pay $i 0,000, ooo 
 a year he would not make a conclusive bargain as 
 respects the debt. It does seem to me, with 
 entire respect for the Senator, that he has seemed 
 to place himself in the position of the man in the 
 story who was so contrary that he would not allow 
 himself to do as he had a mind to." 
 
 And further on he drew the additional parallel : 
 "If we let go this company on their simply 
 paying their honest debts, we will be as bad as 
 the young man in London who succeeded to his 
 father's chancery practice, and when the father 
 asked the son about the famous case of Smith vs. 
 Jones, the son said, 'I settled that yesterday 
 amicably and fairly to both parties.' ' Oh ! you 
 young blockhead,' said he, 'I have lived on that 
 suit for the last twenty years.' ' 
 
 His command of general literature is equally 
 complete. In one of the lively verbal duels with
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 53 
 
 which he disturbed the dullness of the Senate, he 
 remarked to Mr. Eaton, of Connecticut : 
 
 " I have read a great deal from the Senator this 
 morning, and I will read more before I get 
 through." 
 
 MR. EATON. Perhaps that will be the best 
 part of your speech, except what you read from 
 Webster. 
 
 MR. ELAINE. I am obliged to the Senator 
 for the exception. It is equal to Dogberry's 
 injunction, "Put God first." 
 
 The same debate (in May, 1879) was marked 
 by his great oratorical conflict with the late Senator 
 Hill, of Georgia, which with the substitution of 
 more rapid modern methods for the stately for- 
 mality of old times, may be compared to the test 
 of strength between Webster and Hayne. Pass- 
 ing over for a moment the more serious passages, 
 it will be remembered that Senator Hill had 
 written to the voters of Troup county when elected 
 to the Secession Convention, " I will consent to the 
 dissolution of the Union as I would consent to the 
 death of my father, never from choice, only from 
 necessity, and then in sorrow and sadness of 
 heart." 
 
 Mr. Elaine read the ordinance of secession 
 adopted by the Convention, and then continued, 
 amidst the uncontrollable laughter of even those 
 who were hit hardest: 
 
 "That was the ordinance which the Senator from
 
 54 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 Georgia said to the people of Troup he would 
 consent to as he would to the death of his father, 
 and the ordinance which the evening after it was 
 passed so filled his heart with sadness that he put 
 out the lights in his room and would not make a 
 speech to a crowd outside serenading him. I have 
 read the yeas and nays on that, and what is my un- 
 bounded surprise to find that the Senator from 
 Georgia himself voted for the ordinance. Here 
 he is, ' Hill, of Troup.' On the call of the yeas and 
 nays there were 208 in favor of the ordinance of 
 secession and 89 against it, and in the 89 were 
 Alexander H. Stephens and Herschel V. Johnson, 
 who had that very year run for Vice-President on 
 the Douglass ticket. The Senator from Georgia 
 [Mr. Hill], who would consent to it just as he 
 would the death of his father, made up his mind 
 that if two hundred and eight men wanted to 
 murder the old man he would join with them. 
 [Great laughter and applause.] Rather than be 
 in a minority he would join the murderous crowd 
 [laughter], and be a parricide." 
 
 Immediately afterward occurred a tart personal 
 passage, which further proved Mr. Blaine's perfect 
 coolness and readiness, and is also important as 
 being his own account of an event which is some- 
 times unfairly used to his discredit, although any 
 public man had a perfect right, at the time referred 
 to, to decide for himself, and upon the advice of 
 trusted friends (as did General Garfield), whether
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 55 
 
 his services were most needed in the field or in 
 the forum. Soldiers were many ; experienced and 
 trustworthy statesmen and legislators were few, 
 and it is no possible reflection upon Mr. Elaine's 
 courage that he followed the duty which seemed 
 nearest to hand, and waived the military glory won 
 by many far less worthy. In a tone of good-humored 
 raillery he remarked that the Senators on the 
 other side of the Chamber were "dragged into 
 secession " because " their States went, and the 
 honorable Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Williams] 
 was dragged into it because his State did not go." 
 " I did not hire a substitute," was Mr. Williams' 
 courteous retort, and the report continues thus : 
 
 MR. ELAINE. He says he did not hire a substitute. 
 That is a piece of wit which I am glad to notice. The 
 Senators from Kentucky have twice, both of them, taken 
 a turn when I was on the floor to say they did not hire a 
 substitute, as if that was something very pungent. In 
 the conscription law, passed by a Congress of which I 
 was a member, for the first time in the history of the Gov- 
 ernment there was no exemption of Senators or Repre- 
 sentatives from the draft. I was a younger man then 
 than I am now, and among the very first men drafted in 
 my district I was one. I did not resign my seat in Con- 
 gress. I did send a substitute. What would the honora- 
 ble Senator have done ? 
 
 MR. WILLIAMS. I should have gone. 
 
 MR. ELAINE. You would have gone ? 
 
 MR. WILLIAMS. I would have gone to the fight. 
 
 MR. ELAINE. I am glad you would have gone in 
 4
 
 56 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 any way on the Union side. But the Senator was not 
 drafted, and he went and fought against the Government, 
 even when his State did not secede. I consider this ref- 
 erence to a substitute as a first-class sarcasm ; and as the 
 Senators from Kentucky have each tried their hands on it 
 only twice, I hope they will repeat it again. 
 
 MR. WILLIAMS. When my country calls for my 
 services in the army, I am ready. 
 
 MR. ELAINE. I am not disputing it. I only say the 
 honorable Senator went into the rebellion because his 
 State did not go. 
 
 MR. WILLIAMS. I should like to ask the Senator 
 did his substitute fight? 
 
 MR. ELAINE. No. I found out afterward that he 
 was a Democrat. [Laughter.] I was inveigled into hiring 
 him without knowing who he was. 
 
 MR. EATON. Did he sell himself for half price? 
 
 MR. ELAINE. I do not know. I paid full price for 
 him, more than an average Democrat was worth in the 
 war. [Great laughter.] 
 
 Passing to more elevated traits, Mr. Elaine's 
 undoubted courage in his convictions requires a 
 a word of praise. It is this which makes his career 
 and his place in the affections of so many the 
 more remarkable. He is no trimmer. No one 
 is in doubt where to find him on many of the 
 questions of the day. After experience with the 
 wavering, non-committal and uncertain politicians, 
 it is refreshing to find one public man who speaks 
 his mind freely and unmistakably, and adheres 
 to what he has said. Mr. Elaine's views on com-
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 57 
 
 merce, the tariff, finance and the other questions 
 before the public are as familiar as his own world- 
 famous name. He does not deal in vague gene- 
 ralities, or refrain from action on any subject of 
 importance because his interests may conflict with 
 his duty. It is evident that this quality is appre- 
 ciated by his countrymen. They prefer a leader 
 who expresses all his intentions, even though they 
 may not perfectly coincide with all of them, over 
 one who would keep his supporters in the dark 
 as to his real purposes and ideas as long and as 
 largely as possible. 
 
 A special display of this unfailing courage, the 
 need and utility of which was perhaps not fully 
 understood by all at the time it- occurred, was 
 given by Mr. Elaine in the House of Representa- 
 tives, and afterward in the Senate, during the 
 years that followed the ascendency of the Demo- 
 crats throughout the South, and consequently in 
 the lower branch of Congress. Some of his op- 
 ponents have criticised his tactics while leader of 
 the Republican minority, and afterward Senator 
 from Maine, as uselessly irritating a "waving of 
 the bloody shirt," a revival of war issues, and so 
 on. Even his supporters may have wondered 
 why there should be so much debate about Ander- 
 sonville, Jeff. Davis and the solid South. But 
 Mr. Elaine had a purpose. A Democratic major- 
 ity saw itself almost in reach of the control of the 
 White House and the Capitol for the first time
 
 58 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 since the war. It was largely the old majority 
 that had obtained before the war, unchanged and 
 unrepentant. It expected once more to dominate 
 the North by means of an intimidated negro vote, 
 as it had before done by the slave-holders' vote. 
 It was therefore imperative that some one should 
 meet this pretension from the very start, and 
 teach the ex-confederates that the day of Northern 
 doughfaces had forever passed. Mr. Elaine fear- 
 lessly took up the gage, and for three or four 
 years bore the brunt of the verbal battle which 
 raged backward and forward, and which incident- 
 ally tore the masks from the faces of all secret 
 sympathizers with rebellion or slavery, chastened 
 their pride, and largely contributed to awake the 
 North to the danger of this new kind of "slave- 
 ocracy" maintained by "bulldozing." Mr. Elaine 
 was also fully up with the current topics of the 
 time. He exposed, with inimitable satire, the pre- 
 tence that the South was suffering from "bayonets 
 at the polls," when there were, as he showed, only 
 eleven hundred and fifty-five Federal soldiers in 
 the whole region, less than one for each county, 
 or one for each seven hundred square miles. He 
 denounced the violent course of refusing appro- 
 priations for the whole army unless the election 
 laws were repealed. He showed, with his usual 
 clearness and masterly presentation of figures, 
 that the white voters of the South really returned 
 twice as many representatives in proportion to
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 59 
 
 their own number as the white voters of the North 
 did, and that thus alone the Democratic majority 
 was obtained in Congress. The necessity for this 
 painful struggle has passed away; but it had to 
 come at the time it did, and Mr. Blaine was there to 
 meet it. The South is now sending up a new class 
 of men, intent more upon the future than the past, 
 and the real progress of that section has no more 
 earnest friend and helper than Mr. Blaine. 
 
 Above all, but most indescribable, is Mr. Elaine's 
 gracious and winning personality, which captivates 
 even those who would be his enemies. He was 
 afterward on friendly terms with those to whom 
 he dealt the keenest blows in the hot debates of 
 187679. The wounds then inflicted did not 
 rankle, for Mr. Blaine was scrupulous in confining 
 himself only to the public acts and records, of his 
 adversaries, and was always within parliamentary 
 courtesies. 
 
 There are contrasts in Mr. Blaine which might 
 not be suspected by those with a merely surface 
 knowledge of his character, but which are essen- 
 tial to a study of the man. Thus he produces 
 upon many the impression of being entirely off- 
 hand and dashing in his methods, one whom it 
 would be almost impossible to tie down to the 
 drudgery of exact observation and the collation 
 of facts. Even his friends are apt to imagine 
 that his triumphs are due to flashes of intuition, 
 and that it is recklessness ancj luck which carry
 
 00 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 him through so many difficult positions without 
 loss of prestige or the perpetration of damaging 
 blunders. 
 
 In reality there are few, even among the patient 
 plodders or professed book-worms, so careful and 
 thorough in preparation as he. Though this 
 work is generally done by him with the same 
 rapidity and energy as his more public efforts, it 
 is unsparing in its intensity while it lasts, as may 
 be judged from the results. Who, during his long 
 career in Congress, has caught him erring or mis- 
 representing in his statements about men and 
 events ? Almost every word of his has been 
 closely scanned by hostile eyes, anxious to detect 
 and publish any flaw ; he has had occasion to 
 make assertions sure to provoke controversy and 
 attempted denial. Yet in the few instances when 
 adversaries have ventured to take issue with him, 
 he has been so well possessed not merely of the 
 truth, but of the proofs of it, that, while never 
 pretending to superhuman infallibility, he has 
 been able to overthrow them completely on all 
 substantial points involved. 
 
 The same observations apply to his literary 
 tasks. Those near him during the preparation 
 of "Twenty Years of Congress," can testify that 
 he was as keen in the hunt for even the smallest 
 fact which was to have place in the narrative, as 
 if the success of the whole turned upon it. Time 
 and again men of less conscientious thoroughness
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 6 1 
 
 would have been tempted to discard some obscure 
 detail as not worth clearing- up, or to state it with 
 a guess at the truth ; but not so Mr. Elaine. If 
 the missing fact was to be run to earth anywhere 
 within the limits of the Government archives or 
 the memory of the living he would not let it 
 escape him. The first volume, covering a period 
 of intense feeling and much dispute, has been 
 before the public for months. Not one of its 
 critics has thought of impugning its accuracy. 
 
 His great services to the Republican party in 
 Maine spoke of the same characteristic. For 
 twenty years he was chairman of the Republican 
 State Committee, and "organized victory" in a 
 succession of notable campaigns. It was only 
 during the latter part of the time that he emerged 
 as the eloquent, "magnetic" leader; he was 
 never a " Boss " in the sense of those who have 
 dominated politics in some* States and cities. His 
 success was due to hard, unremitting work in the 
 committee-rooms, and in canvassing every county. 
 It is said that he had full lists of the electors, with 
 their probable standing indicated, before each 
 campaign, and that he could therefore predict, 
 with almost absolute accuracy, the results of the 
 voting. 
 
 There is a lesson in all this which would make 
 it useful to repeat, even were it not needed to 
 correct a misapprehension about Mr. Elaine's 
 methods. There are men of less acquirements
 
 62 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 who would find it well to imitate his patient toil in 
 the seclusion of the study, before essaying showy 
 feats in public life. 
 
 Another contrast is that between his hearty, 
 free and open manner at all times when it is 
 proper to unbend, familiar with friends, winning 
 to strangers, disarming even to enemies, and the 
 dignity which no man assumes with more grace in 
 ceremonials of state, or when required to repel 
 impertinence. It is safe to say that the boldest of 
 his intimates never felt tempted to presume upon 
 his acquaintance with Mr. Elaine. Without any 
 oppressive stateliness, there is about him an im- 
 pression of solid worth and power that somehow 
 silences the rude jest, checks too close approach and 
 inspires respect. In private, he is the most unaf- 
 fected of men, cheerful, companionable, and one 
 with those about him ; in public, his bearing is 
 always fitted to the duty he has to perform and 
 the station which he may fill. 
 
 It is certain that nothing could be more distaste- 
 ful to Mr. Elaine than the idea of dragging private 
 religious belief, as an argument pro or con, into 
 {he heated discussion of a political campaign. He" 
 would oppose the use of any reference to religion 
 jto bring voters to his standard, and he has ever 
 refrained from appealing to any sectarian preju- 
 dice against an adversary, But, as it is said else- 
 where, there is nothing in his politics, religion or 
 daily life, the Republican candidate desires to con-
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 63 
 
 ceal, or which needs to be explained away. The 
 facts of Mr. Elaine's history on the religious side 
 are largely a matter of record, and they may be 
 simply stated thus : 
 
 As the daughter of an old and respected Roman 
 Catholic family, his mother was naturally a sincere 
 and life-long member of that body, and honored it 
 by her life as a devout Christian woman. Her 
 son has said, in a letter often republished, that 
 nothing would induce him to utter a word against 
 his mother's faith, and he will never permit him- 
 self to be drawn into one of those religious con- 
 troversies which generally do so little good and so 
 much harm. 
 
 Following the liberty of conscience which pre- 
 vails in this favored land, Mr. Elaine followed in 
 the footsteps of his Protestant ancestors, and has 
 been for nearly twenty-eight years a member of 
 the Congregational Church, having been confirmed 
 in the city of Augusta, in the edifice where the 
 some rite has since been performed for all his six 
 children. He has given liberally of his means for 
 church purposes, as the records of the congrega- 
 tions both of Washington and in Augusta will 
 indicate to those curious enough to make the 
 inquiries. 
 
 When at the National Capitol, and almost over- 
 whelmed with work and care, he may have some- 
 times been pardonably absent from the sanctuary ; 
 but his pastor at Augusta bears witness, as many
 
 64 LIFE OF JAMKS G. BLAIM:. 
 
 others might do, that church-going is to him a 
 sacred obligation, and that he and his family, and 
 the stranger within his gates, unless for grave 
 cause preventing, are to be found each Lord's 
 Day filling their accustomed pew and joining in 
 the services. Earnestness without parade or 
 bigotry may well be given as a description of Mr. 
 Blaine's religious life. 
 
 The Yorktowh Centennial afforded, perhaps, the 
 only interlude in Mr. Blaine's arduous and sombre 
 experience as Secretary of State ; although per- 
 plexing at the time, there was an element of humor 
 in the careful handling necessary of the suscep- 
 tibilities of the German and French guests on that 
 occasion. The descendants of Lafayette and of 
 Steuben showed no such tendency to coalesce in 
 the glory of a common cause as did their ancestors 
 a hundred years before. It may be said to their 
 credit that their pride did not seem to be personal, 
 but national ; yet the effect was the same, so long 
 as they were to be treated as representatives of 
 their nations. If the slightest honor was shown 
 to the flag of one country which was not instantly 
 shown to the other ; if a polite attention was 
 extended to one party which was not balanced by 
 something equivalent for the other ; if the two 
 groups were even brought in too close proximity, 
 there was haughty sniffing and bridling which 
 threatened the dreadful scandal, of one or both 
 sets of guests going off in the midst of the enter-
 
 PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 65 
 
 tainment. Mr. Blaine was the very man to have 
 charge in such an emergency, but his patience, as 
 well as his adroitness, were sometimes thoroughly 
 tried. The French, doubtless, considered them- 
 selves entitled to the greater share of hereditary 
 gratitude and recognition, but the Germans were 
 quite as determined that the French should not 
 get it, and the stiffness of Prussian military 
 etiquette (they were all officers) made it the more 
 easy to offend them. The cordial manner of the 
 Secretary of State smoothed over many difficulties, 
 and the guests of the nation all departed in 
 pleasant mood. 
 
 One of the flying anecdotes of the time is, per- 
 haps, worthy of preservation. At a dinner given 
 by Mr. Blaine at his temporary place of residence 
 at Yorktown to the President, and other of the 
 most distinguished persons in attendance, Mr. 
 Arthur, in the course of the conversation, remarked 
 that the next Centennial celebration upon that 
 spot would be a still more imposing event, "And 
 who knows," he said, turning to Mr. Blaine, "that 
 a grandson of yours may not then be President 
 of the United States?" Whereupon, Senator 
 Anthony, who sat by, observed, with a suspicion 
 of slyness, that "he had understood the family, 
 and the country were not willing to wait quite 
 that long."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. 
 
 THE attachment of Mr. Elaine to his birth- 
 place is so strong and so unusual, that the infer- 
 ence is clear that his childhood must have been 
 a happy one. No place will ever hold the same 
 interest in his affection as Washington County, 
 Pennsylvania. He remembers, with fondness, 
 every running brook, every tree, every stone, 
 every tradition, every incident connected with its 
 history, and every name numbered in its citizen- 
 ship, for the last hundred years. He recalls, with 
 peculiar tenderness, his early boyhood there, his 
 old teachers, his old school fellows. This feeling 
 is one which seems to be a characteristic of natures 
 which are at once capacious and ardent. It was 
 strongly developed in Webster, and in many of 
 the greatest statesmen of this and other lands. 
 
 It is something quite distinct from mere state 
 pride, admirable as that also is when kept within 
 due bounds. It does not depend upon artificial 
 constitutions or institutions, but is an attachment 
 to one's native soil and locality as such. It is 
 undoubtedly the natural foundation of that intense 
 national patriotism, which is so marked an element 
 
 CO
 
 WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. 6j 
 
 in Mr. Elaine's character, that it has attracted the 
 attention and provoked the criticism of English 
 journals, which deprecate his election to the Presi- 
 dency, upon the ground that he is too thoroughly 
 "American." The criticism is one which will not 
 injure Mr. Blaine with the people of the United 
 States, native or adopted. Against these passing 
 cavils, born of selfish desires and fears, we may 
 well set the philosophic words of a great English 
 writer, who tells us that, " Whatever strengthens 
 our local attachments, is favorable both to individ- 
 ual and national character. Our home, our birth- 
 place, our native land think for a while what the 
 virtues are which arise out of the feelings con- 
 nected with these words, and, if you have any 
 intellectual eyes, you will then perceive the con- 
 nection between topography and patriotism." 
 
 Mr. Elaine's love for his birth-place is shown by 
 the following letter, which he wrote a few days 
 before the death of President Garfield, and which 
 illustrates his mastery of that graceful and elo- 
 quent style, in which he easily excels all other 
 public men of this generation. 
 
 "WASHINGTON, D. C, Sept. 5, 1881. 
 " To John McKennan, Esq., Washington, Pa., 
 
 " DEAR SIR : I had anticipated great pleasure in being 
 present at the centennial celebration of the erection of 
 Washington County, but the national sorrow which shad- 
 ows every household detains me here. I shall, perhaps, 
 never again have the opportunity of seeing so many of
 
 68 LIFE OF JAMES C,. BLAINE. 
 
 my blood and kindred, and you may well conceive that 
 my disappointment is great The strong attachment 
 which I feel for the county, the pride which I cherish in 
 its traditions, and the high estimate which I have always 
 placed on the character of its people, increase with years 
 and reflection. The pioneers were strong-hearted, God 
 fearing, resolute men, wholly, or almost wholly, of Scotcl 
 or Scotch-Irish descent They were men, who, accord, 
 ing to an inherited maxim, never turned their backs upor. 
 
 a friend or an enemy. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " It would be impossible to overestimate the beneficent 
 and wide-spread influence which Washington and Jeffer- 
 son College have exerted on the civilization of that great 
 country between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi 
 river. Their graduates have been prominent in the 
 pulpit, at the bar, on the bench and in the high stations 
 of public life. During my service of eighteen years in 
 Congress, I have met a larger number of the alumni of 
 Washington and Jefferson than of any other single college 
 in the United States. I make this statement from memory, 
 but I feel assured that a close examination of the rolls of 
 the two houses from 1863 to 1881 would fully establish 
 its correctness. It was inevitable that a county thus 
 peopled should grow in strength, wisdom and wealth. 
 Its 60,000 inhabitants are favored far beyond the average 
 lot of man. 
 
 11 They are blessed with a fertile soil, and with the health- 
 giving climate which belongs to the charmed latitude of 
 the 4Oth parallel, the middle of the wheat and corn belt 
 of the country. Beyond this, they enjoy the happy and 
 ennobling influences of scenery as grand and as beautiful 
 as that which lures tourists thousands of miles beyond 
 the sea. I have myself visited many of the celebrated
 
 WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. Jl 
 
 spots in Europe, and in America, and I have nowhere 
 witnessed a more attractive sight than was familiar to my 
 eyes in boyhood from the old Indian Hill Farm, where I 
 was born, and where my great grandfather, the elder Neal 
 Gillespie, settled before the outbreak of the Revolution. 
 The majestic sweep of the Monongahela through the foot 
 hills of the Alleghenies, with the chain of mountains but 
 twenty miles distant in full view, gave an impression of 
 beauty and sublimity which can never be effaced. 
 
 " I talk thus familiarly of the localities and of child- 
 hood incidents because your assemblage, though com- 
 posed of thousands, will, in effect, be a family reunion, 
 where the only thing in order will be tradition and recol- 
 lection and personal history. Identified as I have been 
 for twenty-eight years with the great and noble people of 
 another section of the Union. I have never lost any of 
 my attachment for my native county and my native state. 
 Wherever I may be in life or whatever my fortunes, the 
 county of Washington, as it anciently was, taking in both 
 sides of the Monongahela, will be sacred in my memory. 
 I shall always recall with pride that my ancestry and 
 kindred were and are not inconspicuously connected with 
 its history, and that on either side of the beautiful river, 
 in the Protestant and in the Catholic cemeteries, five gen- 
 erations of my own blood sleep in honored graves. 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "JAMES G. ELAINE." 
 
 No less was his popularity in Washing-ton 
 County, even as a youth, and to-day he is not for- 
 gotten, but is remembered and beloved by all the 
 old residents. The same peculiarity has followed 
 him wherever he has gone ; his college mates
 
 72 LIFE OF JAMES G. I5LAINF. 
 
 remember him first of all their associates. As a 
 tutor in Kentucky, his pupils have never forgot- 
 ten him nor lost their old time liking and admira- 
 tion for him. Among those who knew him at the 
 Institution for the Blind in Philadelphia the same 
 high regard exists. In Maine, where he has lived 
 for over thirty years, within a square of the pic- 
 turesque old State House, not one person has 
 declared his unfriendliness to the great friend of 
 the people. His neighbors, from the youngest to 
 the oldest, are his best friends, and no man in the 
 beautiful city of Augusta is more popular or more 
 respected. His standing at home is therefore all 
 that can be desired. Rufus Choate once said, 
 " Ask what his friends, neighbors and townsmen 
 think of him, if you want to know what the man 
 really is." Judged by this standard, Mr. Elaine 
 has nothing to fear. 
 
 An old citizen of Augusta says that Mr. Elaine's 
 life as a man has been identified with the people 
 of Maine. "We have known him," said he, "in 
 every- relation of life, closely and intimately, 
 through all these years, and in every way, we say 
 in the presence of his daily associates, Mr. Elaine 
 has had a spotless career. As husband, father, 
 neighbor, citizen, business man, every one in this 
 community, without regard to party lines, will 
 give him unstinted praise ; in personal morals, 
 in habits of temperance, in uprightness in busi- 
 ness, and in devotion to extraordinary as well as
 
 .WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. 73 
 
 ordinary duties, Mr. Elaine is a pattern man. He 
 has been fortunate in life, but his good fortune 
 has been the result of good habits and good 
 sense, and he has been so generous, not only with 
 money, but with time and sympathy, that envy 
 and jealousy have not followed him. He has an 
 elegant, refined, Christian home, open to every 
 demand of hospitality ; and there is not a poor 
 man in the town who hesitates to enter it for 
 relief, or who goes away empty-handed. 
 
 "Mr. Elaine has always been a model of honor 
 and uprightness in his financial dealings. His 
 word is as good as his bond, and no debt was 
 ever unpaid, or grudgingly paid, or evaded by 
 him. This whole community will absolutely tes- 
 tify to his liberality, and bear witness how wisely 
 and constantly he has given to all good and 
 worthy objects. 
 
 " Men may be tempted by the necessities of a 
 desperate political campaign to resort to ' mud- 
 throwing' to assail Mr. Elaine's character, but 
 against all such efforts we present a man who has 
 the universal respect and attachment of neighbors 
 who have known him throughout his whole career, 
 and know that he has been a centre of good and 
 not of evil all his life ; a man who has a State 
 behind him of absolute unanimity, and who has 
 to-day a more devoted and enthusiastic personal 
 following than any other man in the United 
 States." 
 
 5
 
 74 LI FE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 As an example of Mr. Elaine's sympathy and 
 generosity, an incident coming within the obser- 
 vation of the writer may be noticed. A young 
 journalist, who had been friendly to Mr. Blaine, 
 or at least not prejudiced against him, was lying 
 very ill at his residence in Washington. His 
 expenses were heavy, and his income was wholly 
 cut off. Another journalist told Mr. Blaine of 
 the condition of the sick man and his family. Mr. 
 Blaine, then Speaker, was about to open the day's 
 session of the House. When he heard the story, 
 he said, "Wait a moment," and went to his offi- 
 cial desk. The usual morning prayer was said, 
 and then, while the Journal of the previous day's 
 session was being read, Mr. Blaine called a mem- 
 ber to the chair and joined his newspaper friend 
 in the Speaker's lobby. 
 
 " Come with me," said he ; and, going directly 
 to the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, he drew 
 one hundred dollars in bills, and, handing them to 
 the gentleman, said, "If you get a chance to give 
 this to his family without wounding their pride or 
 subjecting them to obligation, do so, only do not 
 let my name be mentioned." It so happened 
 that the money was not needed, but the kindly 
 disposition of the man was thus illustrated. And 
 this is only one instance among the almost num- 
 berless cases where his purse has been opened 
 wherever its contents could relieve distress or 
 misery, or serve some good cause.
 
 WARM-HEARTED AND BELOVED. 7* 
 
 The following remarks of the Rev. Dr. Ecob, 
 now in charge of a large congregation in Albany, 
 N. Y., are appropriate in this connection. No 
 truer, better man than he .ever entered a pulpit. 
 
 "I have known Mr. Elaine," says this gentleman, 
 "since 1872. During nearly ten years of that 
 time I was pastor of the church in Augusta of 
 which Mr. and Mrs. Elaine are members. The 
 satisfaction I take in his nomination is based upon 
 such a knowledge of him as only a pastor can 
 gain. I believe that I am too true a Republican, 
 and I know that my conception of citizenship is 
 too high, to permit me to ratify the exaltation of 
 any man whose character has not the true ring. I 
 have been very near to Mr. Elaine, not only in 
 the most trying political crises, but in the sharper 
 trial of great grief in the household, and have 
 never yet detected a false note. I would not be 
 understood as avowing too much for human 
 nature. I mean that as I have known him he has 
 stood loyally by his convictions ; that his word has 
 always had back of it a clear purpose, and that 
 purpose has always been worthy of the highest 
 manhood. 
 
 "In his house he was always the soul of gen- 
 iality and good heart. It was always summer in 
 that house whatever the Maine winter might be 
 without. And not only his ' rich neighbors and 
 kinsmen ' welcomed him home, but a long line of 
 the poor hailed the return of that family as a
 
 76 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE 
 
 special providence. In the church he is honored 
 and beloved. The good old New England cus- 
 tom of church-going with all the guests is enforced 
 strictly in the Blaine household. Whoever is 
 under his roof, from the President down, is 
 expected to be with the family at church. Fair 
 Vveather or foul, those pews were always well 
 filled. Not only his presence on the Sabbath, but 
 his influence, his wise counsels, his purse, are 
 freely devoted to the interest of the noble Old 
 South Church of Augusta. 
 
 "The hold which Mr. Blaine has maintained 
 upon the hearts of such great numbers of his 
 countrymen is not sufficiently explained by bril- 
 liant gifts of magnetism ; the secret lies in his 
 generous, manly, Christian character. Those who 
 have known him best are not surprised that his 
 friends all over the country have been determined 
 that he should secure the highest honor within 
 their gift. It is because they believe in him. The 
 office has sought the man, the political papers to 
 the contrary notwithstanding. I have absolute 
 knowledge that in 1 880 he did not lift a finger to 
 influence the Convention. He was quietly at 
 home devoting himself to his business affairs, and 
 steadfastly refused even the entreaties of his own 
 family to interest himself in behalf of the nomina- 
 tion. I, for one, shall put my conscience into my 
 vote next November."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 
 
 THERE is nothing which has more commended 
 Mr. Elaine to the admiration and enthusiastic 
 support of his fellow-countrymen, whether they 
 were distinctly conscious of the quality in him or 
 not, than the thoroughly native quality and fibre 
 of his character. He is above all things an 
 American. It is scarcely necessary, to qualify this 
 by saying that there is in him none of the narrow- 
 ness of the so-called "Native American," or 
 "Know Nothing," and none of that harmful ex- 
 cess of feeling to which the French, who afford 
 perhaps the best specimens of it, have given the 
 name of "Chauvinism." His sympathies, though 
 first for his own nation, are also wide enough to 
 embrace the whole "boundless continent," which 
 he thinks ought to be "ours" by the peaceful 
 conquest of mutual commerce and friendship, and 
 every man is to him an American who gives his 
 undivided faith and allegiance to the Constitution 
 and the Union, and is ready to merge himself in 
 the body of the American people. With only this 
 proviso he is ready to espouse the cause of any 
 citizen or class of citizens, wherever they may
 
 78 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 have been born, or of whatever race, or whether 
 dwelling in our own borders or traveling abroad. 
 
 The words which in his memorial address he 
 applied to the lamented Garfield, with whom he 
 had so many admirable qualities in common, might 
 Well be applied to the orator who spoke : 
 
 "Himself a conspicuous illustration of what 
 ability and ambition may do under republican 
 institutions, he loved his country with a passion 
 of patriotic devotion, and every waking thought 
 was given to her advancement. He was an 
 American in all his aspirations, and he looked to 
 the destiny and influence of the United States 
 with the philosophic composure of Jefferson, and 
 the demonstrative confidence of John Adams." 
 
 And again : "He believed that our continental 
 relations, extensive and undeveloped as they are, 
 involved responsibility, and could be cultivated 
 into profitable friendship, or be abandoned to 
 harmful indifference or lasting enmity. He be- 
 lieved, with equal confidence, that an essential 
 forerunner to a new era of national progress must 
 be a feeling of contentment in every section of the 
 Union, and a generous belief that the benefits and 
 burdens of government would be common to all." 
 
 This active patriotism in Mr. Elaine's character 
 explains many features of his career. He is not 
 one to be satisfied with making mere lip-profes- 
 sions of devotion, or even being ready to defend 
 his country when attacked. He wishes at all
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 79 
 
 times to be doing something in her service, either 
 to advance prosperity at home, or assert her 
 proper position abroad, among the nations of the 
 earth two things which in this stage of the world's 
 progress are indeed inseparable. 
 
 Thus, in 1878, he braved the odium which then 
 attached to the very name of subsidy, and advo- 
 cated the establishment and maintenance of a line 
 of mail steamers to Brazil, to which the Emperor 
 Dom Pedro lately returned, full of enthusiasm, 
 from his visit to the United States, had already 
 extended aid conditional upon that from the 
 United States. He showed that by this very 
 policy Great Britain had crowded the American 
 sailor off the seas, and he appealed to Congress 
 to right this wrong, saying: 
 
 "I maintain, Mr. President, that if the United 
 States had not met with the incalculable obstacle 
 that was thrown upon us by the war, and had 
 been willing to uphold* her shipping just as stiffly 
 as Great Britain on all the lines of commerce, we 
 should have outrun her. We had done it in sail- 
 ing-vessels. We were ahead of her, or at least 
 equal to her, in 1857. If I remember the figures 
 aright, the tonnage stood about 5,700,000 tons for 
 each country, and I grieve to say that it is eight 
 million and odd for Great Britain, and only three 
 million for America to-day. You may stand here 
 and talk about the wrongfulness of subsidies, and 
 the impolicy of granting them, until doomsday,
 
 8O LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 and Great Britain will applaud every speech of 
 that kind made in the American Congress, and 
 will quietly subsidize her steamers and take pos- 
 session of the commerce of the world. Great 
 Britain to-day makes more money out of the com- 
 merce of the United States, vastly more, than is 
 the interest on our public debt. She handles 
 more, in the way of net profits, on the commerce 
 which America gives her, than the interest on the 
 vast national debt which we are burdened with 
 to-da*y. I make that statement as a statistical fact, 
 capable of being illustrated and proved." 
 
 The aid was refused, and American trade is 
 still cut off from Brazil, or goes only by way of 
 Liverpool, in British steamers. Again, in 1881, 
 he pleaded for the re-establishment of American 
 shipping, opposing, at the same time, the propo- 
 sition of Senator Beck to throw open our doors 
 to the ship-builders of the Clyde. His watchword 
 was still, "Everything American." He said: 
 
 " Mr. President, the frank admission of the 
 honorable Senator from Kentucky took away a 
 large part of the argument which I thought I 
 should have to make, and that was to prove that 
 if the United States to-day is incompetent to com- 
 pete with Great Britain in the manufacture of iron 
 ships, and if you admit iron ships from Great 
 Britain absolutely free of duty, you will be still 
 more incompetent to do it next year. It takes, in 
 the language of the trade, what is called a great
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 8 1 
 
 'plant' to build steamships ; it takes a large in- 
 vestment of money ; it takes large and powerful 
 machinery ; it requires the investment of millions 
 to start with ; and if, in addition to all that has 
 been done abroad to build up English ship-yards, 
 we pour into them all the patronage that can come 
 from this country, I should like the honorable 
 Senator from Kentucky, or any other Senator, to 
 tell me exactly at what point of time it will come 
 to pass that any feeble effort on this side will begin 
 to compete with those great yards. If you abandon 
 it this year because you are unable, you will be 
 far more unable next year, you will be still less 
 able the year ensuing, and every year will add to 
 the monopoly of British power in that respect, and 
 to the absolute weakness and prostration of Ameri- 
 can power in competition. But I will say that the 
 frank admission of the honorable Senator from 
 Kentucky, of the future and perpetual dependence 
 upon England removes the necessity of arguing 
 that point. He frankly admits it with all its 
 damaging force." 
 
 In 1879, Mr. Blaine said, in speaking of the ex- 
 penses of the navy, which has no commerce to 
 protect : "We carried five-sevenths of the Ameri- 
 can commerce when the war broke out. We do 
 not carry one-quarter to-day, and if we come out 
 of the deep abyss of humiliation that we are in, we 
 will come out of it by vigorous and strong-nerved 
 and daring legislation, if you please. I would
 
 82 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 open it to all the business of the country, but I 
 would put the race between American skill and 
 the skill of all the world, with the utmost possible 
 confidence that, sustained by this Government in 
 the race, we would win. It is in our people. With 
 an equal chance we can beat them. But, with the 
 present condition of things, a hope for the revival 
 of American commerce is as idle a hope as ever 
 entered the brain of an insane man. Our trade 
 is falling off one or two per cent, per annum as 
 we stand to-day. It was less this year than it was 
 last. It was less last year than it was the year 
 
 before. It will be less next year than this. 
 * # * * * 
 
 "We want a navy, but we want something for 
 it to do. We want a navy to protect the com- 
 merce, but we want a commerce in advance for 
 the navy to protect, and we want a commerce that 
 shall not be one of favoritism ; a commerce that 
 shall not benefit one section at the expense of 
 another, but one that shall be equal and just and 
 generous and profitable to all. You will never 
 get it by making this nation a tributary to Great 
 Britain. You will never get it by banishing the 
 art of ship-building from among our people. You 
 will never get it by discouraging all possible aspi- 
 rations for maritime and commercial supremacy, 
 by a public proclamation from Congress that after 
 nearly a century of gallant struggle, in which 
 more than three-quarters of the time we were
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 83 
 
 ahead in the race, on account of an accidental mis- 
 hap that put us behind, we of to-day, not having 
 the nerve or the sagacity of those who went before 
 us, sank before the prospect, and asked other 
 nations to do for us what we have lost the man- 
 hood and the energy to do for ourselves." 
 
 There is nothing of the spread-eagle in this. It 
 is the langauge of a statesman who^ wishes prac- 
 tically to benefit his country, who is not only proud 
 of her resources, but wishes to see them developed, 
 and who knows that a great people should not re- 
 main supine in the race for peaceful supremacy on 
 the globe. 
 
 In the same way he appealed to a proper 
 national pride, when, in 1878, as a friend of bi-metal- 
 lic currency, he withstood not only the advocates 
 of the single gold standard but those of the 
 unlimited coinage of the depreciated dollar, and 
 urged the coinage of a silver dollar of equal value 
 with that of gold. He showed that it would not 
 only tend to restore silver for international ex- 
 changes, but that it would " insure to our laborers 
 at home a full dollar's pay for a dollar's worth of 
 work," a matter always of deep concern to him. 
 On this point he further said : 
 
 " And I think we owe this to the American 
 laborer. Ever since we demonetized the old 
 dollar we have been running our mints at full 
 speed, coining a new silver dollar for the use of 
 the Chinese cooly and the Indian pariah a dol-
 
 84 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 
 
 lar containing 420 grains of standard silver, with 
 its superiority over our ancient dollar ostenta- 
 tiously engraved on its reverse side. To these 
 'outside barbarians' we send this superior dollar, 
 bearing all our national emblems, our patriotic 
 devices, our pious inscriptions, our goddess of 
 liberty, our defiant eagle, our federal unity, our 
 trust in God. This dollar contains 7^ grains 
 more silver than the famous 'dollar of the fathers' 
 proposed to be recoined by the pending bill, and 
 more than four times as many of these new dol- 
 lars have already been coined as ever were coined 
 of all other silver dollars in the United States. 
 In the exceptional and abnormal condition of the 
 silver market now existing throughout the world, 
 we have felt compelled to increase the weight of 
 the dollar with which we carry on trade with the 
 heathen nations of Asia. And shall we do less 
 for the American laborer at home ? Nay, shall 
 we not do a little better and a little more for those 
 of our own blood and our own friends ? If you 
 remonetize the dollar of the fathers, your mints 
 will be at once put to work on two different dol- 
 lars ; different in weight, different in value, differ- 
 ent in prestige, different in their reputation and 
 currency throughout the commercial world. It 
 will read strangely in history that the weightier 
 and more valuable of these dollars is made for an 
 ignorant class of heathen laborers in China and 
 India, and that the lighter and less valuable is
 
 AN AMERICAN OF THE AMERICANS. 85 
 
 made for the intelligent and educated laboring 
 man who is a citizen of the United States. Char- 
 ity, the adage says, begins at home. Charity, the 
 independent American laborer scorns to ask, but 
 he has the right to demand that justice shouid 
 begin at home. And in his name, and in the 
 name of common sense and common honesty, I 
 ask that the American Congress will not force 
 upon the American laborer an inferior dollar, 
 which the naked and famishing and degraded 
 laborers of India and China refuse to accept."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. 
 
 MR. ELAINE'S sympathy goes naturally, and has 
 always gone, to the workingman. He comes 
 from a place and from among a people where 
 honest labor is considered a badge of honor, and 
 where the maxim, "If any man will not work, 
 neither shall he eat," is thoroughly believed in. 
 He has himself spent a life of constant exertion, 
 either in public or private employ, and none of 
 the pains or the pleasures of such a life are 
 unknown to him. The phrase "workingman's 
 friend" has been so abused by demagogues that 
 Mr. Elaine has never put forward a claim to it, or 
 paraded himself in that character; but his adhe- 
 rence to the cause has been steady and unosten- 
 tatious. He has, in fact, felt himself one with the 
 toiling millions, and has spoken as one of them, 
 as it were in his own behalf as well as theirs, and 
 never as if condescending from any height above 
 them. 
 
 The result has been a ready and cordial sym- 
 pathy between himself and those of his fellow- 
 citizens who eat their bread in the sweat of their 
 face, earning a livelihood with active brain, or 
 
 86
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. 8/ 
 
 deft fingers, or strong arms. He has a lively and 
 profound interest in all that pertains to them, 
 whether they be those who swing the sledge and 
 axe, or drive the plane, or delve in the mine, or 
 control with skill and courage the powerful agen- 
 cies of steam. 
 
 His constant effort has been to aid the develop- 
 ment of American industry, not only by maintain- 
 ing the duties on imports, \vhich protect the 
 American manufacturer and mechanic against 
 ruinous competition from abroad, and have there- 
 by added so much to the accumulated wealth and 
 resources of the country, but also by opening new 
 fields for enterprise in the direction of ship-build- 
 ing, the ocean-carrying trade, and commerce \vith 
 countries which need our products. 
 
 His plans and policy all tend toward improving 
 the condition of the laborer and artisan, toward 
 preserving to him the home market, which is so 
 rapidly increasing by the growth of population, 
 and at the same time adding a foreign one by 
 developing trade relations with our sister repub- 
 lics in this hemisphere, the countries of Asia and 
 Africa, which are now too much monopolized by 
 Europe, and even with Europe itself, where 
 American ingenuity, if once fully appreciated, 
 would find a welcome. 
 
 This ready and warm-hearted sympathy with 
 the wage-earner has been displayed in many ways 
 by Mr. Elaine. When the question of the cur-
 
 88 i 111: OF JAMT.S <;. IM.AINI-:. 
 
 rrnry was before Congress, under exciting cir- 
 cumstances, in iS;6, Mr. Blaine (whose record in 
 this particular is clear) took the side of honest 
 money as opposed to wild inflation. What was 
 the reason which he put foremost for this action? 
 It was that the interests of the workingman would 
 be injuriously affected by the opposite course. In 
 his speech before the House of Representatives, 
 February loth, 1876, Mr. Elaine explained, with 
 equal vigor and clearness, the effect which would 
 be produced by perpetuating an irredeemable 
 paper currency, and distinguished this from the 
 effects produced by its original issue during the 
 war. He said : 
 
 " Uncertainty as to the value of the currency from day 
 to day is injurious to all honest industry. And while 
 that which is known as the debtor interest should be 
 fairly and generously considered in the shaping of mea- 
 sures for specie resumption, there is no justice in asking 
 for inflation on its behalf. Rather there is the gravest 
 injustice; for you must remember that there is a large 
 class of most deserviug persons who would be continually 
 and remorselessly robbed by such a policy. I mean the 
 Jstltor of the country, that is compelled to live from and 
 by its daily earnings. The savings-banks, which repre- 
 sent the surplus owned by the laborers of the nation, 
 have deposits to-day exceeding eleven hundred millions 
 of dollars more than the entire capital stock and deposits 
 of the national banks. The pensioners, who represent 
 the patriotic suffering of the country, have a capital ixed 
 investment of six hundred millions of dollars. Here are
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. 89 
 
 seventeen hundred millions of money incapable of re- 
 ceiving anything but instant and lasting injury from infla- 
 tion. Whatever impairs the purchasing power of the 
 dollar correspondingly decreases the resources of the 
 savings-bank depositor and pensioner. The pensioner's 
 loss would be absolute, but it would probably be argued 
 that the laborer would receive compensation by his nomi- 
 nally larger earnings. But this would prove totally delu- 
 sive, for no possible augmentation of wages in a time of 
 inflation will ever keep pace with the still greater increase 
 of price in the commodities necessary to sustain life, ex- 
 cept and mark th.e exception under the condition wit- 
 nessed during the war, when the number of laborers was 
 continually reduced by the demand for men to serve in 
 the Army and Navy. And those honest-minded people 
 who recall the startling activity of trade, and the large 
 profits during the war, and attribute both to an inflated 
 currency, commit the error of leaving out the most im- 
 portant element of the calculation. They forget that the 
 Government was a customer for nearly four years at the 
 rate of two or three millions of dollars per day buying 
 countless quantities of all staple articles ; they forget that 
 the number of consumers was continually enlarging as 
 our armed force grew to its gigantic proportions, and that 
 the number of producers was by the same cause continu- 
 ally growing less, and that thus was presented, on a scale 
 of unprecedented magnitude, that simple problem, familiar 
 alike to the political economist and the village trader, of 
 the demand being greater than the supply, and a conse- 
 quent rise in the price. Had the government been able 
 to conduct the war on a gold basis, and provided the coin 
 for its necessarily large and lavish expenditure, a rise in 
 the price of labor, and a rise in the value of commodities, 
 would have been inevitable. And the rise of both labor 
 6
 
 9O LIFE OF JAMES G. HI. A INF. 
 
 and commodities in gold would have been for the time 
 as marked as in paper, adding, of course, the depreciation 
 of the latter to its scale of prices." 
 
 And a little further on, in the same speech, he 
 continued, in words which it may be permissible 
 to quote as showing another of his most cherished 
 ideas, as follows : 
 
 " One great and leading interest of my own and other 
 States has suffered, still suffers, and will continue to 
 suffer so long as the currency is of irredeemable paper. 
 I mean the ship-building and navigation interest one 
 that does more for the country and asks less (rom it than 
 any other except the agricultural ; an interest that repre- 
 sents our distinctive nationality in all climes and upon all 
 seas; an interest more essentially and intensely American 
 than any other that falls under the legislative power of 
 the Government, and which asks only to-day to be left 
 where the founders of the Republic placed it a hundred 
 years ago. Give us the same basis of currency that our 
 great competitors of the British Empire enjoy, and we 
 will, within the life-time of those now living, float a larger 
 tonnage under the American flag than was ever enrolled 
 by one nationality since the science of navigation has 
 been known among men. Aye, more, sir; give us the 
 specie basis, and the merchant marine of America, sailing 
 into all zones and gathering grain from all continents, 
 will bring back to our shores its golden profits, and 
 supply to us that coin which will steady our system and 
 offset the drains that weaken us in other directions. But 
 ships built on the paper basis cannot compete with the 
 lower-priced ones of the gold basis, and whoever advo-
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. gj 
 
 cates a perpetuity of paper money in this country con- 
 fesses his readiness and willingness to sacrifice the navi- 
 gation and commercial interest for all time." 
 
 This genuine feeling for the honest worker and 
 desire to see labor reap its full reward is, in Mr. 
 Elaine's mind, limited to no particular class, but 
 extends to the farmer as well as to the mechanic and 
 sailor, to those of the West and South as well as 
 to those of the East. He has, in fact, kinships 
 and associations with them all, having been, as he 
 says in one of his public addresses, " born and 
 reared amid an agricultural community in Western 
 Pennsylvania, and lived all the years of my 
 maturer life in the best agricultural district in 
 Maine," besides his briefer experience as far 
 South as Kentucky. It was therefore naturally, 
 and without affectation, that he concluded his 
 address before -the State Fair at Minneapolis, in 
 September, 1878, in this strain of prophetic elo- 
 quence, conveying a eulogy of the farmer's life 
 worthy of Franklin : 
 
 " During all the depression of trade and commerce and 
 manufactures prevailing for these past five years, you 
 have steadily progressed in comfort, independence and 
 wealth. While thousands elsewhere have lacked employ- 
 ment, and many, I fear, have lacked bread, no able-bodied 
 man in Minnesota has been without remunerative labor, 
 and no one has gone to bed hungry. Your pursuits 
 and their results form the basis of the ideal Republic 
 happily indeed realized within your own borders. The
 
 92 LIFE OF IAMKS G. ELAINE. 
 
 tendency of all your industry is toward the accumulation 
 of independent competency, and does not favor the 
 upbuilding of colossal fortunes. You are dealing daily 
 with the essential things of life, and not warped in your 
 judgment nor deflected from your course by speculative 
 and illusory schemes of advancement and gain. You are 
 land-owners, free-holders, a proud title that comes to us 
 with centuries of civilization and strength a title that 
 every man in this country should make it his object to 
 acquire and to honor. Self-government among the 
 owners of the soil in America is an instinct, and where 
 that ownership is widely distributed good government is 
 the rule. Whatever disturbances, therefore, may threaten 
 the peace and order of society, whatever theories, trans- 
 planted from other climes, may seek foot-hold here, the 
 Republic of the United States rests securely on that basis 
 of agriculture where the farmers of the Revolution and 
 the framers of the Constitution placed it. The man who 
 possesses broad acres, which he has earned by the sweat 
 of his brow, is not apt to fall in with the doctrine of the 
 Communist, that no one has a right to ownership in the 
 soil. The man who has the product of his labor in wheat 
 and in corn, in pork and in beef, in hides and in wool 
 commanding gold and silver as they always have and 
 always will in the markets of the world is not to be led 
 astray with theories of fiat paper and absolute money, but 
 instinctively consigns such wild vagaries to the appro- 
 priate domain of fiat folly and absolute nonsense. 
 
 The farmers of the Republic will control its destiny. 
 Agriculture, commerce and manufactures are the three 
 pursuits that enrich a nation but the greatest of these is 
 agriculture for without its products the spindle cannot 
 turn and the ship will not sail. Agriculture furnishes the 
 conservative element in society, and in the end is the guid-
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. 93 
 
 ing, restraining, controlling force in government. Against 
 storms of popular fury ; against frenzied madness that 
 seeks collision with established order ; against theories 
 of administration that have drenched other lands in blood ; 
 against the spirit of anarchy that would sweep away the 
 landmarks and safeguards of Christian society and Repub- 
 lican government, the farmers of the United States will 
 stand as a shield and the bulwark themselves the willing 
 subjects of law and therefore its safest and strongest 
 administrators." 
 
 
 And he added, in language that would suffice to 
 
 meet any idea that his outlook is limited to the 
 Eastern States: 
 
 " Gradually the Government of the Republic is passing 
 under the control of the farmers of the Mississippi valley. 
 Indeed it is practically there to-day. The swelling and 
 on-rushing tide of population is toward the plains and 
 the rich acres that lie between the two mountain ranges 
 of the continent. The soil is so fertile, the land so in- 
 viting, the area is so broad, that no man may dare calcu- 
 late the possibilities of this great region, either as respects 
 production or population. Your own State, peopled no 
 more densely than New York, would have a population 
 of nine millions ; peopled as densely as Massachusetts, 
 you would have a population of sixteen millions. With 
 the transfer of political control from the old States to the 
 new, there is also transferred a vast weight of responsi- 
 bility. It is yours to-day ; it will be yours still more 
 to-morrow. Take it ; use it wisely and well for the ad- 
 vancement of the whole for the honor of all The 
 patriotic traditions of the ' old thirteen ' that fought the 
 battles of the Revolution, formed the Union of the States,
 
 94 i in-: ' '' J AMI > G. m AIM . 
 
 and planted liberty in the organic laws, will be your safest 
 guide your highest inspiration, Many of you mingle 
 with your love for Minnesota, your earlier affection for 
 the old home and the old State far to the East, where an 
 honored ancestry lie buried, and where the tenderest 
 memories cluster around the familiar scenes of days long 
 past. It is this kinship of blood, these ties of relation- 
 ships that make us indeed one people uniting the East 
 and West, the North and the South, in the indissoluble 
 bond of a common and I trust always beneficent Govern- 
 ment." 
 
 Mr. Elaine is no fair-weather friend. He has 
 stood by the American workingman when to do 
 so cost obloquy, censure and the loss of favor 
 from influential persons. A considerable part of 
 the opposition to his candidacy to-day, especially 
 among the wealthy Brahmin caste and the fanati- 
 cal element in Massachusetts, dates from his un- 
 hesitating advocacy of the measures to limit the 
 importation of Chinese labor, this being also one 
 of the planks in the platform on which he now 
 stands. When the late William Lloyd Garrison 
 published a denunciation of the Republican Sena-, 
 tors who voted for the bill restricting Chinese 
 immigration, Mr. Elaine replied, in a letter to the 
 New York Tribune, in February, 1879, showing 
 that there was nothing inconsistent in their action 
 with the traditions of the Republican party in 
 welcoming immigration from Europe of free and 
 law-abiding men, who meant to mingle in good 
 faith with our population, or in protecting the
 
 A FRIEND OF LABOR AND ENTERPRISE. 95 
 
 large colored population already among us and 
 enrolled as citizens. His final and conclusive 
 reason for his action was that the exclusion was 
 necessary in order to prevent the degradation of 
 the American laborer to the level of the coolie, 
 with whom he would otherwise be brought in 
 ruinous competition. He said, "We do not want 
 cheap labor; we do not want dear labor. We 
 want labor at fair rates ; at rates that shall give 
 the laborer his fair share, and capital its fair share. 
 If more is sought by capital, less will in the end 
 be realized." After pointing out that coolie labor 
 implied all the evils of the black slave labor against 
 which Mr. Garrison had contended so successfully, 
 and that dangerous civil commotions would result 
 from a sudden and general reduction of wages, 
 Mr. Elaine concluded : 
 
 "I feel and know that I am pleading the cause 
 of the free American laborer, and of his children 
 and of his children's children. It has been well 
 said that it is the cause of 'the house against the 
 hovel ; of the comforts of the freeman against the 
 squalor of the slave.' It has been charged that 
 my position would arraign labor-saving machinery 
 and condemn it. This answer is not only super- 
 ficial, it is also absurd. Labor-saving machinery 
 has multiplied the power to pay, has developed 
 new wants, and has continually enlarged the area 
 of labor, and constantly advanced the wages of 
 the laborer. But servile toil has always dragged
 
 96 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 free labor to its lowest level, and has stripped it 
 of one muniment after another until it was help- 
 less and hopeless. Whenever that condition 
 comes to the free laborer of America, the Repub- 
 lic of equal rights is gone, and we shall live under 
 the worst of oligarchies that of mere wealth, 
 whose profit only measures the wretchedness of 
 the unpaid toilsmen that produce it."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE ORATOR. 
 
 MR. ELAINE has never set himself to gain the 
 reputation of an orator. His public speaking has 
 always been of a practical sort, intended to effect 
 some important object, without time to consider 
 many of the graces of rhetoric. For this purpose 
 his style and manner are well adapted. He is 
 clear, forcible and direct, and always terribly in 
 earnest, a fiery " Rupert of debate." His voice is 
 of good carrying power ; his utterance rapid but 
 distinct, and his tall, well-poised figure, constantly 
 in motion ; his vigorous gestures and flashing eye, 
 convey his own intensity of conviction, and seem 
 to bear down all opposition before them. By 
 some he has been criticised as almost too vehe- 
 ment, and even brusque in his argument and 
 attack, but it should be understood that this is 
 merely his natural and unconscious manner, and 
 does not mark any personal feeling toward his 
 opponents. No man is more free from this pet- 
 tiness. He carries away no resentments from the 
 hardest tussle of logic and argument, always meets 
 good-humor and compliment in the course of it 
 with equal heartiness, and only resorts to personal 
 
 97
 
 98 I IFF. or JAMKS (,. HI.AINK. 
 
 retort upon the strongest provocation. Some of 
 his warmest friends have been those with whom 
 he had the most doughty verbal conflicts upon the 
 floor of Congress or the campaign rostrum. But, 
 on the few occasions, when he has had time to 
 study his language and expression, he has easily 
 risen to heights which show that his reputation as 
 an orator is at least potentially deserved, and 
 might have been made as actual as that of a 
 Chatham or a Sheridan. Such an instance is the 
 conclusion of "his matchless address in commemo- 
 ration of the martyred Garfield, delivered before 
 the great auditory that assembled in the Hall of 
 Representatives, on the 27th day of February, 
 1882. With exquisite simplicity, but with the 
 deepest feeling apparent in every word, he then 
 said : 
 
 " On the morning of Saturday, July 2d, the 
 President was a contented and happy man not 
 in an ordinary degree, but joyfully, almost boy- 
 ishly happy. On his way to the railroad station, 
 to which he drove slowly, in conscious enjoyment 
 of the beautiful morning, with an unwonted sense 
 of leisure and a keen anticipation of pleasure, his 
 talk was all in the grateful and gratulatory vein. 
 He felt that after four months of trial his admin- 
 istration was strong in its grasp of affairs, strong 
 in popular favor, and destined to grow stronger ; 
 that grave difficulties confronting him at his 
 inauguration had been safely passed ; that trouble
 
 THE ORATOR. 99 
 
 lay behind him and not before him ; that he was 
 soon to meet the wife whom he loved, now 
 recovering from an illness which had but lately 
 disquieted, and, at times, almost unnerved him ; 
 that he was going to his Alma Mater to renew 
 the most cherished associations of his young 
 manhood, and to exchange greetings with those 
 whose deepening interest had followed every step 
 of his upward progress from the day he entered 
 upon his college course until he had attained the 
 loftiest elevation in the gift of his countrymen. 
 
 "Surely, if happiness can ever come from the 
 honors or triumphs of this world, on that quiet 
 July morning James A. Garfield may well have 
 been a happy man. No foreboding of evil haunted 
 him ; no slightest premonition of danger clouded 
 his sky. His terrible fate was upon him in an 
 instant. One moment he stood erect, strong, coa 
 fident in the years stretching peacefully out before 
 him. The next he lay wounded, bleeding, help- 
 less, doomed to weary weeks of torture, to silence, 
 and the grave. 
 
 " Great in life, he was surpassingly great in 
 death. For no cause, in the very frenzy of want- 
 onness and wickedness, by the red hand of 
 murder, he was thrust from the full tide of this 
 world's interest, from its hopes, its aspirations, its 
 victories, into the visible presence of death and 
 he did not quail. Not alone, for the one short 
 moment in which, stunned and dazed, he could
 
 IOO l.IFK OF |. \MF.S G. BI.AIXK. 
 
 give up life, hardly aware of its relinquishment, 
 but through days of deadly languor, through 
 weeks of agony, that was not less agony because 
 silently borne, with clear sight and calm courage, 
 he looked into his open grave. What blight and 
 ruin met his anguished eyes, whose lips may tell 
 what brilliant, broken plans, what baffled, high 
 ambitions, what sundering of strong, warm, man- 
 hood's friendships, what bitter rending of sweet 
 household ties ! Behind him a proud, expectant 
 nation, a great host of sustaining friends, a 
 cherished and happy mother, wearing the full, 
 rich honors of her early toil and tears ; the wife 
 of his youth, whose whole life lay in his ; the little 
 boys not yet emerged from childhood's day of 
 frolic ; the fair young daughter ; the sturdy sons 
 just springing into closest companionship, claim- 
 ing every day and every day rewarding a father's 
 love and care ; and in his heart the eager, rejoicing 
 power to meet all demand. Before him, deso- 
 lation and great darkness ! And his soul was not 
 shaken. His countrymen were thrilled with 
 instant, profound, and universal sympathy. 
 Masterful in his mortal weakness, he became the 
 centre of a nation's love, enshrined in the prayers 
 of a world. But all the love and all the sympathy 
 could not share with him his suffering. He trod 
 the wine-press alone. With unfaltering front he 
 faced death. With unfailing tenderness he took 
 leave of life. Above the demoniac hiss of the
 
 THE ORATOR. IOI 
 
 assassin's bullet he heard the voice of God. With 
 simple resignation he bowed to the divine decree. 
 
 "As the end drew near, his early craving for 
 the sea returned. The stately mansion of power 
 had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, 
 and he begged to be taken from its prison walls, 
 from its oppressive, stifling air, from its homeless- 
 ness and its hopelessness. Gently, silently, the 
 love of a great people bore the pale sufferer to the 
 longed-for healing of the sea, to live or to die, as 
 God should will, within sight of its heaving billows, 
 within sound of its manifold voices. With wan, 
 fevered face tenderly lifted to the cooling breeze, 
 he looked out wistfully upon the oceans changing 
 wonders ; on its far sails, whitening in the morn- 
 ing light ; on its restless waves, rolling shoreward 
 to break and die beneath the noonday sun ; on 
 the red clouds of evening, arching low to the hori- 
 zon ; on the serene and shining pathway of the 
 stars. Let us think that his dying eyes read a 
 mystic meaning which only the rapt and parting 
 soul may know. Let us believe that in the silence 
 of the receding world he heard the great waves 
 breaking on a farther shore, and felt already 
 upon his wasted brow the breath of the eternal 
 morning." 
 
 There is nothing simpler or more feeling in the 
 English language. New beauties will be found 
 in it as it is read over and over again.
 
 IO2 I.I IK ()!' JAMES (i. Ul.AINK. 
 
 As an example of Mr. Blaine's directness, force 
 and condensation in his public utterances, the 
 following is given, and a stronger platform of 
 principles could not well be formulated. Mr. 
 Buchanan, after he was nominated for the Presi- 
 dency, wrote : " I am no longer James Buchanan, 
 but the Cincinnati platform." Mr. Blaine, how- 
 ever, did not hesitate long in advance to give 
 his political creed, thus : "The mighty power of a 
 republic of fifty millions of people," said he, "with 
 a continent for their possession, can only be 
 wielded permanently by being wielded honestly. 
 In a fair and generous struggle for partisan power 
 let us not forget those issues and those ends which 
 are above party. Organized wrong will ultimately 
 be met by organized resistance. The sensitive 
 and dangerous point is in the casting and the 
 counting of free ballots. Impartial suffrage is our 
 theory. It must become our practice. Any party 
 of American citizens can bear to be defeated. 
 No party of American citizens will bear to be 
 defrauded. The men who are interested in a 
 dishonest count are units. The men who are 
 interested in an honest count are millions. I wish 
 to speak for the millions of all political parties, 
 and in their name to declare that the Republic 
 must be strong enough, and shall be strong 
 enough, to protect the weakest of its citizens in 
 all their rights."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. 
 
 THE period of the Speakership, from 1869 to 
 1875, was > a ^ things considered, the most brilliant 
 of Mr. Elaine's brilliant career up to the present. 
 The office is legally the third greatest in the 
 government of the United States, and in the 
 hands of a man of genius it easily becomes the 
 second, if not the first, in importance. Although 
 the House of Representatives may not have the 
 same " omnipotence " that is ascribed to the Eng- 
 lish House of Commons, it has the same control 
 over the money-power, and its presiding officer 
 wields an influence out of all comparison to that 
 of his English compeer. The British Speaker is 
 almost a machine, and to him the satirical descrip- 
 tion aimed by the well-known humorist, Mr. Donn 
 Piatt, at Mr. Elaine, is more truly applicable, " two- 
 thirds parliamentary law, and one-third gavel." 
 Mr. Peel, like his predecessors for centuries, is 
 not subject to the mutation of politics, but expects 
 to hold his place like a judge on the bench, during 
 good behavior, or until retired after twenty years 
 with a title and pension. 
 
 The American Speaker occupies a position at 
 
 103
 
 IO4 LIFE OF JAMES (J. HLAINE. 
 
 once immensely more difficult and more distin- 
 guished. He is elected by the party in the 
 majority at the time, as their representative and 
 exponent, yet he is expected to preserve judicial 
 impartiality toward the opposition, who watch his 
 every word and act, and are quick to protest 
 against what they consider any unfairness. His 
 control over all kinds of legislation, public and 
 private, and his consequent responsibility, is almost 
 beyond explanation to those not familiar there- 
 with. Two points will suffice to give an idea 
 of his power. 
 
 In the first place, the Speaker alone decides the 
 personnel of all the committees, those lesser 
 Houses of Congress, in which all legislation is 
 digested and put in form, where the initial battles 
 over every measure are fought, and which by their 
 power of reporting, or not reporting bills, posess 
 a veto power almost equal to that of the Presi- 
 dent. The Speaker directs absolutely and with- 
 out appeal, who shall be chairman of each, who 
 shall be his associates, and from what faction or 
 element in the party selected, and who shall rep- 
 resent the minority element. He must also 
 assign places to those troublesome political non- 
 descripts who are occasionally senfup by erratic 
 constituencies Greenbackers, Independents, La- 
 bor Party men, and fanatics of all shades, who do 
 not fit into any regular scheme. A power so 
 liable to abuse or mismangement in weak or
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. 105 
 
 malicious hands has often caused agitation in favor 
 of some method of selecting the list of commit- 
 teemen by balloting in caucus, as it is done in the 
 Senate, owing to the regular presiding officer there 
 (the Vice President) not being chosen by that 
 body. This agitation was never heard of while 
 Mr. Elaine filled the Speaker's chair. 
 
 A second power, inherent in the place, is that 
 of recognizing or not recognizing those who rise 
 with the intent of " catching that desirable disease, 
 the Speaker's eye." In so large and turbulent a 
 body as the House, it is not to be supposed that the 
 Speaker allows his visual orb to wander at ran- 
 dom, hitting whom it may, and awarding that man 
 the floor, as it were, by lot. This method would 
 indeed be difficult when two or a dozen, or indeed 
 all the members, appear to be standing at once, 
 clamoring "Mr. Speaker!" in that hubbub of 
 different notes and accents that so confounds the 
 unaccustomed visitor. Partly by previous arrange- 
 ment, in which the Speaker must constantly use 
 his best powers of discretion, partly by rapid 
 decision in his own mind, he singles out those 
 whom the interests of the party, or the demands 
 of fairness, entitle to the honor, and thereby 
 molds the expression of sentiment as well as the 
 course of legislation in the House, save so far as 
 he is controlled by the rules or by long custom, 
 which also he decides upon and interprets. 
 
 In such a place, Mr. Elaine's powers and dis-
 
 IO6 LIFE (>F JAMKS G. ELAINE. 
 
 position shone resplendent. Much of his immense 
 popularity dates from this era. It may be allowed 
 to dwell for a moment, with renewed admiration, 
 upon the stirring spectacle which was presented 
 by the greatest speaker, since Henry Clay, in this 
 meridian light. Even excluding all regard for 
 the man, an enemy would have been fascinated 
 and delighted, in spite of rancor, by the sheer 
 intellectual force and perfect self-command dis- 
 played. The Speaker seemed born to preside 
 over just such an assemblage as that in which he 
 found himself. Patient in the tedious passages 
 of debate and routine, courteous under harrassing 
 interruptions, impartial to friend and chivalric to 
 foe, he rapidly rose with the rising tide of excite- 
 ment and activity, caused by important business 
 or personal feeling, towering to his full height, his 
 voice, with something of the ring of the clarion in 
 it, penetrating the loudest tumult, the gavel in his 
 practised hand chiming in with varied tones that 
 aptly enforced his words, from the sharp rat-tat- 
 tat that recalled the House to decorum, to the 
 vigorous thunder that actually drowned unpar- 
 liamentary speech ; rulings, repartee, transcluent 
 explanation flashing from his lips as quick as 
 lightning, to the discomfiture of every assailant 
 who tilted against him, until, with the whole House 
 in full cry, the waves of debate rolling and surging 
 around the base of the marble throne, on which 
 the Speaker is installed, he seemed, like the
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. 
 
 creature of Addison's imagination, to " ride on 
 'the whirlwind and direct the storm." 
 
 This is not the language of exaggerated praise, 
 but simply an attempt to convey the impression 
 made upon every spectator who could understand 
 anything of the physical and intellectual force 
 involved. Mr. Elaine's rulings upon the com- 
 plicated points of order so constantly arising 
 under our system of parliamentary law, and 
 artfully thrust upon every Speaker, by rivals in 
 his own party as well as in the opposition, had 
 all the delightfulness of the solution of a difficult 
 problem in logic or mathematics. The manner 
 in which he repeatedly brought order out of chaos, 
 or cut the House free from some apparently hope- 
 less snarl, with a dozen Gordian knots in it, by a 
 few sweeping strokes, right and left, with his keen 
 mental blade, and started business forward with a 
 grand rush often drew a ripple of applause from 
 the whole House and the galleries, the more so 
 that he never seemed to pose for such recogni- 
 tion. Most Speakers are carefully coached, either 
 openly or on the sly, by the subordinates around 
 them at the desk, but Mr. Elaine's knowledge of 
 the manual, as well of the name and antecedents 
 of every member before him, seemed to be instinc- 
 tive, and he was better fitted to give than to 
 receive information on any such points. His feats 
 in this particular cannot be understood without 
 reference to the marvelous memory and the
 
 IO8 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 thoroughness of application to the work before 
 him, which are necessarily mentioned so often in 
 writing about him. As he had prepared for his 
 first editorial work, by mastering the important 
 contents of his journal for years previously, so it 
 is probable that he prepared for the Speakership 
 by almost committing to memory, the Digest and 
 rules and the membership list of the three succes- 
 sive Congresses in which he was Speaker. 
 
 His grip on the order of business and the exact 
 bearings of a complicated tangle of amendments 
 and cross -motions, was equally marvelous. 
 Though of inferior importance, his physical 
 qualifications are not unworthy to be mentioned 
 in the same breath. He looked as if fitted by- 
 nature for his station. His dexterity and quick- 
 ness made it almost amusing to see him count the 
 House on a rising vote, and country visitors stared 
 with wonder at the splintered trench in the hard 
 desk-lid, carved with the gavel, backed by his 
 sinewy wrist, at each annual session. Above all, 
 were his fairness and anxiety to do right. With- 
 out a sign of weakness or cowardice, he con- 
 ceded to every member, and every faction, the 
 same courtesy and the same due meed of recog- 
 nition. Personally, he was on friendly terms with 
 the leaders of the Democratic minority, for his par- 
 liamentary wrangles with Mr. Randall, Mr. Cox 
 and others, though he often turned the laugh upon 
 them by the brightness and wittiness of his
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. IOQ 
 
 retorts, were of a nature not to leave a sting 
 behind. It was sharp give-and-take, while it lasted, 
 but for himself, he asked no odds, and he took no 
 unfair advantages. He never used the great 
 weight of his position, as could so easily have been 
 done, to bear down any member, however weak 
 and friendless, unless that member had made him- 
 self an intolerable nuisance, and the whole House 
 sympathized with its presiding officer in suppres- 
 sing him. Still more wonderful, Mr. Elaine 
 preserved amity with the leaders of his own party 
 upon the floor, who were, in some sense, his rivals, 
 keeping the balance of power with them and among 
 them, without drawing their resentment upon him- 
 self. On occasion he showed that he was a leader, 
 and not a follower, by taking a vigorous stand to 
 oppose the faction, to which he then first gave the 
 name of " Stalwart," who pushed on the measure, 
 his wisdom knew to be extreme, in the " Bill to 
 protect electors," better known as the Force Bill, 
 giving President Grant the right to suspend the 
 writ of habeas corpus at pleasure in the Southern 
 States, and to use martial law in suppressing the 
 Ku Klux Klan. 
 
 Foreseeing that the liberty-loving sentiment of 
 the North, especially in the " doubtful States," 
 would be repelled by this excessive -stretch of arbi- 
 trary power, Mr. Blaine, not content with oppos- 
 ing it in caucus, deliberately courting the risk and 
 cost of such an unusual step, came down from
 
 HO LIFE OF JAMES (1. BLAIM . 
 
 the Speaker's chair, and threw his influence upon 
 the floor against the adoption of the bill. The 
 after-cost to him through many years was indeed 
 great, although President Grant tacitly admitted 
 the weight of his argument by soon after refusing 
 the aid of the army to Governor Ames, of Missis- 
 sippi. 
 
 All this added, however, to Mr. Elaine's popu- 
 larity with men whose good esteem is worth hav- 
 ing, and after his party had been washed into a 
 minority by a tidal wave caused partly by not 
 fully adopting the moderation he advised, his 
 leave-taking of the chair was an extraordinary 
 scene. So far was it from being a manifestation of 
 triumph by the party which was to elect his suc- 
 cessor, that it was rather an occasion of deep 
 feeling over the loss of a presiding officer who 
 was able, impartial and well-liked, and who had 
 conferred marked dignity and lustre on the place. 
 Mr. Elaine, at 12 o'clock noon on the day of 
 the dissolution of that Congress, delivered the 
 usual valedictory of the session and his term of 
 office, in one of the five minute speeches which 
 he knows so well how to adapt to the occasion 
 and the audience, and then, declaring the House 
 adjourned, brought down his gavel hard and let it 
 fall from his practised hand. Following is the 
 record of his closing address : 
 
 Mr. Elaine said : " Gentlemen : I close with this 
 hour a six years' service as Speaker of the House
 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. I II 
 
 of Representatives a period surpassed in length 
 by but two of my predecessors, and equaled by 
 only two others. The rapid mutations of per- 
 sonal and political fortune in this country have 
 limited the great majority of those who have occu- 
 pied this chair to shorter terms of office. 
 
 " It would be the gravest insensibility to the hon- 
 ors and responsibilities of life not to be deeply 
 touched by so signal a mark of public esteem as 
 that which I have thrice received at the hands of 
 my political associates. I desire in this last 
 moment to renew to them, one and all, my thanks 
 and my gratitude. 
 
 "To those from whom I differ in my party rela- 
 tions the minority of this House I tender my 
 acknowledgements for the generous courtesy with 
 which they have treated me. By one of those 
 sudden and decisive changes which distinguish 
 popular institutions, and which conspicuously 
 mark a free people, that minority is transformed 
 in the ensuing Congress to the governing power 
 of the House. However it might possibly have 
 been under other circumstances, that event neces- 
 sarily renders these words my farewell to the 
 Chair. 
 
 "The Speakership of the American House of 
 Representatives is a post of honor, of dignity, of 
 power, of responsibility. Its duties are at once 
 complex and continuous ; they are both onerous 
 and delicate ; they are performed in the broad
 
 112 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 light of day, under the eye of the whole people, 
 subject at all times to the closest observation, and 
 always attended with the sharpest criticism. I 
 think no other official is held to such instant and 
 such rigid accountability. Parliamentary 7 rulings 
 in their very nature are peremptory ; almost abso- 
 lute in authority and instantaneous in effect. They 
 cannot always be enforced in such a way as to 
 win applause or secure popularity ; but I am sure 
 that no man of any party who is worthy to fill this 
 chair will ever see a dividing line between duty 
 and policy. 
 
 "Thanking you once more, and thanking you 
 cordially, for the honorable testimonial you have 
 placed on record to my credit, I perform my only 
 remaining duty in declaring that the Forty-third 
 Congress has reached its constitutional limit, 
 and that the House of Representatives stands 
 adjourned without day." 
 
 So far from dispersing, as Mr. Elaine stepped 
 lightly down from the rostrum, the crowded assem- 
 blage, floor and galleries, rose, and greeted him 
 with repeated salvos of applause, running in 
 waves from side to side, with almost delirious 
 cheering, clapping of hands, and waving of hand- 
 kerchiefs. Fully five minutes, it seemed, he was 
 detained, bowing and acknowledging, with emotion, 
 this tribute to the record he had made, and for 
 full half an hour there poured toward his stand- 
 ing place, at the clerk's desk, a constant stream

 
 THE BRILLIANT SPEAKER. i i 5 
 
 of members and citizens, anxious to press his 
 hand and express in words the admiration and 
 regret already shown in signs. None who were 
 there can forget the impression made by this 
 scene. 
 
 His parliamentary decisions live in print, and 
 have been quoted as authority, in foreign lands as 
 well as in this, but the gracefulness, eloquence 
 and wit with which they are delivered, and his 
 whole conduct of the business of the House, 
 through six years of a 'great and trying period, 
 can only be left to the memory of those who were 
 actual spectators.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DARKER DAYS. 
 
 .To the period of Mr. Elaine's triumphal success 
 as Speaker of the House was to succeed a brief 
 one which, unhappily, afforded an almost total 
 contrast of gloom and adverse circumstance. But 
 to those who reflect, it will show his innate 
 greatness of mind and heart, perhaps even more 
 strongly displayed than in the flush of his success. 
 If it be not pedantic to quote, it might be said 
 that he had taken for his motto, " Ne cede malis, sed 
 contra audentior ito! " His wide and well-earned 
 popularity was apparently to be obscured, at least 
 so far as any benefit to him was concerned. Instead 
 of friendly regards from both parties, the Democ- 
 racy were to be more stirred up against him than 
 they were against the extremest Radicals, while 
 he was cruelly assailed from the rear by a cross- 
 fire from personal factions, which, while they hated 
 each other, hated him still worse for his towering 
 eminence as a presidential candidate ; finally, it 
 seemed as if the stars in their courses were fight- 
 ing against him, when the midsummer sun struck 
 Jiim prostrate at the crisis of his career, upon the 
 steps of his house of prayer. 
 
 116
 
 DARKER DAYS. 117 
 
 It is almost painful to write of this portion of 
 his life, so full is it of manifestations of human 
 malice and depravity against him, some of which 
 still survive; and the story is relieved only by Mr. 
 Elaine's manly and courageous bearing, under all 
 the tempests which assailed his prospects, and 
 that which was dearer than life to him his 
 unspotted good name. 
 
 To fully explain the causes of the position in 
 which Mr. Elaine found himself, it must be remem- 
 bered what kind of a majority it was which the 
 Democracy sent to the House of Representatives 
 for the first time since the war. The lenity which 
 Mr. Elaine had bravely advised toward the South, 
 the withdrawal of the last vestiges of that military 
 control which he saw would not be supported by 
 the sentiment of the North, had left the old 
 leaders of the South free to regain power, by 
 intimidating and "counting out," the negro vote. 
 They came back to Congress full of the ideas 
 which had prevailed before 1861, added to and 
 embittered by the memory of their disastrous 
 appeal to arms. They found a number of allies 
 from the Northern States ready to meet and greet 
 them, the usual Republican majority from that 
 section being diminished by scandals in the civil 
 administration of the government, for the exist- 
 ence of which, or the busy stirring-up they 
 received in the interests of a particular candidate 
 for the Presidency, Mr. Elaine was in no wise
 
 Il8 LIFE OF JAMKS (1. HIAINE. 
 
 responsible. The Southerners naturally thought 
 old times had revived for them ; that they could 
 dominate their Northern associates as of yore, 
 and with their cooperation guide the whole coun- 
 try into any policy they chose. The extraordinary 
 number of ex-officers of the Rebel army in both 
 branches of Congress, caused the phrase " the 
 Rebel brigadiers " to become a by-word in speak- 
 ing of their- action. They expected to redress all 
 the "wrongs" they had suffered, to nullify all the 
 legislation of the war, and as many as possible of 
 its results, and with the fulcrum of a solid South 
 (an ominous expression then first heard), to gain 
 the Presidency, and sway the whole Union. 
 Unseemly notes of triumph were heard from the 
 hot heads among them, such as " the Confederacy 
 is in the saddle again." Their ill-gotten triumph 
 was abused in many ways, as by turning out 
 crippled Union soldiers employed about the 
 Capitol, and putting in former wearers of the 
 gray, and the loyal men and Republicans seemed 
 too dispirited to resent these insults to their 
 cause. 
 
 Mr. Elaine, who naturally became the leader of 
 that almost "forlorn hope," the minority in the 
 House, saw that something must be done to rouse 
 his party and the country from apathy, and to set 
 the full results of the expected triumph of a Solid 
 South over a divided North, in the proper light. 
 To do this it was necessary for him to perform
 
 DARKER DAYS. 
 
 119 
 
 the trying manoeuvre known in military parlance 
 as "drawing the enemy's fire," a dangerous ser- 
 vice not attempted for bravado, but to learn the 
 position and intentions of the foe, and make him 
 betray the nature and armament of his force. 
 Occasions were soon supplied by the over- 
 weening confidence and almost insolence of the 
 majority. 
 
 One of the most cherished notions of the 
 re-united ex-Confederate and Copperhead Dem- 
 ocracy was what was known as General Amnesty, 
 or the sweeping repeal of all the political disabil- 
 ities imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment to 
 the Constitution, upon those who, having once 
 taken the oath of allegiance as a civil or military 
 officer of the United States, or any State, had 
 engaged in rebellion or given aid or comfort to 
 rebels. This vry mild punishment of treason, as 
 Mr. Elaine showed in his masterly and exhaustive 
 argument upon it, had been further alleviated by 
 general acts of limitation, and by special acts for 
 the relief of individuals, until little or nothing 
 
 o 
 
 remained. It only applied, in the first instance, 
 to about eighteen thousand men in the South. 
 The first relief bill passed, removed the disability 
 from 15/8 citizens of the South, and the next bill 
 from no less than 3526 at one swoop. A constant 
 stream of smaller bills benefitting one or more 
 individuals succeeded, the Republicans having all 
 the time two-thirds majority in both branches,
 
 I2O LIFE OF JAMES G. HI. AIM . 
 
 and finally, in May, 1872, a general law was 
 adopted, removing their disabilities from all 
 persons except members of the 36th and 3/th 
 Congresses, officers in the m-ilitary, judicial, and 
 nnval service of the United States, heads of 
 Departments, and foreign ministers of the United 
 States. The relief of individuals still continued, 
 and in no instance, save one, was relief refused 
 upon the presentation of a respectful petition, 
 which had become requisite by custom, and in no 
 instance, save one, was there other than a unan- 
 imous vote. 
 
 Not content with all this, the " brigadiers " were 
 intent upon blotting out the last vestige of pun- 
 ishment for treason from the statute book, and 
 wished to throw the pearl of citizenship at the feet 
 of those who spurned it, and still gloried in open 
 defiance of the Government. They attempted to 
 put their action on the ground of " magnanimity," 
 not seeming to see that there was no magnanim- 
 ity in a set of men extending pardon to themselves, 
 when by the strange fluctuations of politics, they 
 found themselves well nigh supreme in the Gov- 
 ernment they had fought to overthrow. Mr. 
 Blaine saw the opportunity. The courage and 
 eloquence which he displayed in meeting it will 
 be referred to further on. At this point an 
 outline may be given of the course which he 
 pursued. 
 
 Shoulder to shoulder with James A. Garfield, a
 
 DARKER DAYS. 121 
 
 man of equal kindliness and conservatism, but 
 who, like him, never confounded those qualities 
 with neglect of duty, Mr. Elaine withstood the too 
 confident advance of the Democratic phalanx, over 
 the trampled memories, gains and glories of the 
 war, just as he had withstood the advocates of the 
 Force Bill. He moved to except from the oper- 
 ation of any general amnesty, " Jefferson Davis, 
 late president of the so-called Confederate States," 
 and also to require that all those availing them- 
 selves of the benefit of the proposed act should 
 take the oath of allegiance in some Federal court. 
 The reasons for the second proviso were obvious : 
 those for the first were given in one of his most 
 earnest speeches. He said that careful investiga- 
 tion, made at his request, had showed that there 
 were still under disabilities about 325 ex-officers 
 of the army, 295 of the navy, with enough under 
 the other categories in the act of 1872 to make 
 about 750 in all. To none of these, so far as he 
 knew, was there any objection, save one, and he 
 went on, with his usual easy ascent, to a climax of 
 crushing force, that he did not aim to except Jefferson 
 Davis because that person was, as he had been called, 
 the head and front of the Rebellion ; on that score 
 the ex-President was no more nor less guilty than 
 thousands of -others already amnested ; probably 
 he was less efficient as an enemy of the United 
 States, and far more useful as a disturber of the 
 counsels of the Confederacy than most of them.
 
 122 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 But he ought to be excepted on the ground, that 
 he was the author, " knowingly, deliberately, 
 guiltily and willfully, of the gigantic murders and 
 crimes of Andersonville." 
 
 Reference to this fearful prison-pen at once 
 aroused intense excitement, but Mr. Elaine con- 
 tinued, while the faces of the ex-Confederate 
 leaders paled with rage, as they understood how 
 they were driven to the defensive, that he had read 
 of the historic horrors of past times, but that before 
 God, measuring his words, he could declare that 
 neither the deeds of Alva in the Low Countries, 
 nor the massacre of St. Bartholemew's, nor the 
 thumbscrews and engines of torture of the Spanish 
 Inquisition, began to compare in atrocity with the 
 hideous crime of Andersonville. He was here 
 met with a storm of mingled applause and indig- 
 nant protest, but his preparation had been as 
 thorough as usual, and he went on with pitiless* 
 severity, quoting from the testimony of Southern 
 witnesses and official records, nothing extenuating, 
 nor setting down aught in malice, and wound up 
 with this fiery sentence: "I hear it said, '\Ve 
 will lift Mr. Davis again into great consequence 
 by refusing amnesty.' That is not for me to 
 consider ; I only see before me, when his name 
 is presented, a man who, by the wink of his eye, 
 by a wave of his hand, by a nod of his head, could 
 have stopped the atrocity at Andersonville. Some 
 of us had kinsmen there, most of us had friends
 
 DARKER DAYS. 123 
 
 there, all of us had countrymen there, and in the 
 name of those kinsmen, friends and countrymen, 
 I here protest, and shall with my vote protest, 
 against calling back and crowning with the honors 
 of full American citizenship the man who organ- 
 ized that murder." 
 
 The Southern members hastily consulted 
 together, and next day put forward Benjamin 
 H. Hill, of Georgia, to answer the champion 
 of the Republicans. In many respects, this was 
 the best choice they could have made. The 
 Georgians are often called the " Yankees of the 
 South," and are supposed to be cooler in temper, 
 more business-like and abler to cope in sagacity 
 with their Northern brethern, than the citizens of 
 the other cotton states. Mr. Hill was not a 
 "brigadier," but had been a member of the 
 Confederate Senate, and, it was believed, of rather 
 a conservative stripe. He was a forcible, even 
 eloquent, speaker, and a man of wide information 
 and experience in affairs. 
 
 It has been said, both by those who approved 
 Mr. Elaine's bold course and those who deplored 
 it, that it was a mistake for the Southern leaders 
 to attempt any reply to him ; that if they had only 
 remained silent his speech would have failed of 
 all effect, and he would have been left in the 
 position of a foiled disturber of the peace. This 
 notion, unjust to Mr. Elaine, proceeds on an 
 inadequate knowledge of the facts in the case.
 
 124 LIFE OK JAMKS G. ELAINE. 
 
 If the Southern leaders had entertained no sinister 
 designs upon the Government, if they had made 
 no exaggerated promises to their people at home, 
 if they had been wholly sincere in their professions 
 of renewed devotion to the Union, they might, 
 indeed, have preserved a lofty silence under all 
 that Mr. Blaine could say. But none knew better 
 than he that to keep silence was to them impossi- 
 ble, and he was determined that they should speak 
 out frankly what was in their minds and hearts. 
 
 Their position, for one thing, would have been 
 wholly illogical. They were determined to carry 
 " in the centennial year," as they were fond of 
 saying, an act of amnesty which should actually 
 drag into full citizenship men who, like Robert 
 Toombs, publicly spat upon and reviled the prof- 
 fered gift. Mr. Blaine tendered them an act of 
 amnesty with only the two provisos above spoken 
 of, one excepting Jeff. Davis, the other requir- 
 ing the oath of allegiance. To justify their rejec- 
 tion of this offer, it became absolutely necessary 
 for them to defend Davis from the charges 
 brought against him, and in so doing they revealed 
 their whole doctrine and belief about the Civil 
 War and its results. Moreover, their people at 
 home would not have been satisfied with any 
 policy of silence. Few or none of the Southern 
 Congressmen would have dared to face their 
 constituents after allowing such a speech as that 
 of the "Maine Yankee" to go unanswered.
 
 DARKER DAYS. 125 
 
 First, Mr. S. S. Cox, on the part of the North- 
 ern Democrats, opened the attack with a burst 
 of wit and raillery, like a skirmish of light horse, 
 and then Mr. Hill advanced in massive column, 
 like Pickett at Gettysburg. The line which he 
 took justified all Mr. Elaine's expectations. It 
 was a general assault upon the North. Not 
 content with arguing that Jefferson Davis was 
 never proven guilty of complicity with Winder 
 and Wirz, Mr. Hill went on to argue that the suf- 
 ferings at Andersonville, Belle Isle and Libbey 
 were due to the unreasonable refusal of the 
 Federal Government to exchange prisoners, and 
 still more that, the Confederate prisoners at 
 Elmira and elsewhere, were treated quite as 
 badly or worse ; that they were vaccinated with 
 impure virus, crowded into pest houses to die and 
 buried in trenches. He wound up by inveighing 
 against the "'higher law' fanaticism that never 
 kept a pledge nor obeyed a law," and by inviting 
 the men of the North to join with those of the 
 South against those who had " denounced the 
 Union as a ' covenant with death and a league 
 with hell,' ' evidently meaning the old Aboli- 
 tionists and their successors in the Republican 
 party. 
 
 The next day, January 12, 1876, Mr. Garfield, 
 with a thoroughness of preparation resembling 
 that of Mr. Blaine, delivered one of his grand 
 speeches. It was a complete vindication of the
 
 126 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 position of the Republican party on the question 
 of amnesty. Bringing back the argument from 
 the wide range which Mr. Hill had given it to the 
 exact question before the House, Mr. Garfield 
 showed, from official testimony, nearly all from 
 Southern sources, that Jefferson Davis personally 
 sent the infamous Winder to Andersonville, and 
 obstinately sustained him there in all his actions, 
 against the protests of the humane officers, sur- 
 geons, inspectors and newspapers of the South. 
 Turning to the question of Elmira, he cried, "The 
 lightning is our witness ! " and showed the 
 despatches that had poured in upon him in answer 
 to the infamous charges, of course made upon 
 hearsay, contained in Mr. Hill's speech. Finally, 
 he proved that the alleged refusal of the Federal 
 authorities to exchange prisoners was caused by 
 the refusal of the Confederates to recognize the 
 brave negroes fighting in the armies of the Union 
 as entitled to the rights of civilized warfare. 
 
 Mr. Blaine followed in a summing-up of what 
 had been established. He humorously remarked 
 that the gentleman from Georgia reminded him 
 of Horace Greeley's description of the difficulties 
 of a militia general on parade on Broadway : "he 
 tries to keep step to the music of the Union, and 
 dodge his fire-eating constituency in Georgia." 
 He disposed of Mr. Cox by citing a speech of that 
 gentleman during the war, in which he had spoken 
 of the " inhumane, barbarous, horrible treatment
 
 DARKER DAYS. 127 
 
 inflicted upon our soldiers held as prisoners by 
 the rebels," and said that the latter had "made 
 brutes and fiends of themselves." Turning upon 
 Mr. Hill, he read with vehemence a resolution 
 introduced in the Confederate Senate in October, 
 1862, by "Senator Hill, of Georgia," providing 
 that every person pretending to be a soldier or 
 officer of the United States who should be cap- 
 tured on the soil of the Confederate States, should 
 be presumed to have come with intent to incite 
 insurrection and abet murder, and, unless he could 
 prove the contrary, should suffer death ; also an 
 act, reported by the same gentleman, for inflicting 
 the penalty of death upon every officer command- 
 ing negro or mulatto troops in arms against the 
 Confederate States. He demanded what t these 
 meant, to which there was, of course, no reply. 
 Before closing, Mr. Elaine, with his usual chivalric 
 generosity, resented a remark of Mr. Hill's, which 
 seemed to reflect upon the President, and rebuked 
 him for saying in effect that Jefferson Davis was 
 no more responsible for Winder and Wirz than 
 General Grant for McDonald and Joyce, when, in 
 fact, the President had lately made his famous 
 memorandum, " Let no guilty man escape." 
 When he closed, there was little more to be said 
 for or againt Andersonville, with its dead-line, its 
 treeless desert open to the sun, its single stag- 
 nant stream, its bloodhounds, and the Florida 
 artillery ranged in . line to fire upon the stockade
 
 128 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 if General Sherman's army came within seven 
 miles distance. 
 
 The next day, the i4th, Mr. Blaine gave a little 
 exhibition of that parliamentary skill which has 
 made part of his fame, and also rendered him, while 
 he remained in the House, something of a terror 
 to other occupants of the Speaker's chair, and to 
 the ill-led, undisciplined Democratic majority 
 which he confronted. It had been attempted to 
 force through the General Amnesty bill without 
 debate, but it failed for want of a two-thirds vote. 
 This gave Mr. Blaine, although in the minority, 
 the right to move to reconsider, and to announce 
 his intention of offering an amendment for which, 
 he said, his side would vote. All the debate 
 was founded upon this motion. He finally asked 
 unanimous consent that his substitute might be 
 considered, with the privilege to both parties of 
 offering amendments. Eager to signify their 
 resentment toward him, the Democrats shouted 
 objections, and it was thought that Mr. Blaine 
 was for once disconcerted. They forgot that he 
 still had complete control of his motion to recon- 
 sider, on which no action had been taken, and 
 with a smile, he withdrew it, and with it, all chance 
 of continuing the debate or reviving "general 
 amnesty" for that session, leafing the Democrats, 
 as it were, gasping with surprise. 
 
 So ended the great debate. One very similar 
 ensued in the Senate in March, 1879, when both
 
 DARKER DAYS. I 29- 
 
 Mr. Elaine and Mr. Hill had been promoted to 
 that body by their respective states. The 
 question, then, was over the exclusion of Jefferson 
 Davis by name from the benefits of the pension 
 bill for the survivors of the Mexican war, and it 
 will be remembered that the late Senator Chand- 
 ler, of Michigan, was aroused by it to deliver that 
 five minutes' speech of burning eloquence, every 
 \vord of which seemed to come straight from his 
 indignant heart, and which forever fixed the place 
 of Jefferson Davis in all rightful public opinion. 
 It was a tribute to the tone and temper in which 
 these eminent men, the regretted Senator from 
 Georgia, as well as Mr. Elaine, conducted this 
 very trying discussion, that it was no bar to their 
 afterwards becoming the closest personal friends. 
 At the time, the effect of the debate was most 
 pronounced. The Republicans and loyal men of 
 the North (whose letters of approval poured in 
 upon their advocate) , plucked up spirit when they 
 found that they need not tamely submit to the 
 revived arrogance of the South. The represen- 
 tatives of the latter section almost unconsciously 
 took a more considerate tone and abated some of 
 the worst of their pretensions. Nevertheless, they 
 were intensely embittered against Mr. Elaine ; 
 though, if they had but known it, he had done them 
 an important service in teaching them the difficult 
 lesson of moderation for the future. To over- 
 throw, either in general debate, or in the tactics of
 
 I3O LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 legislation, an adversary so thoroughly armed at 
 all points, they discovered, after very few attempts, 
 to be impossible. They studied out a more 
 terrible revenge, which it would be easier to look 
 back upon with calmness were it not necessary to 
 think that rivals of Mr. Blaine almost at the head 
 of the official household of his own party, aided 
 and abetted it in the hope of clearing the way for 
 their own futile ambition. 
 
 It was an era of investigations. Imitating the 
 Credit Mobilier inquiry which Mr. Blaine had 
 moved for his own vindication while Speaker, the 
 Democrats in the House, eager to justify their 
 charges of corruption against the Republican 
 party, set out on a wild hunt for something wrong 
 in every branch of the public service, or as it was 
 sometimes expressed, cast a drag-net which they 
 hoped would bring to light some piece of scandal 
 that would benefit their cause. Every committee 
 of the House became an investigating committee, 
 and instead of confining itself to work upon legis- 
 lation, summoned and examined, at great expense, 
 every witness they thought might serve their 
 purpose. A certain class of newspapers and 
 their correspondents entered eagerly into the 
 work, set the committees and their spies on new 
 trails, and published every fact and rumor in 
 exaggerated form. Everybody was investigated, 
 from heads of departments to private citizens who 
 had formed a pool to buy real estate,
 
 DARKER DAYS, 
 
 It is needless to say that, up to this time, no 
 breath of suspicion had touched Mr. Elaine. He 
 had come through the troublous years during and 
 after the war, when so many fell into temptation, 
 without even a smell of fire upon his garments. 
 Not a whisper was heard against his fame as an 
 honest and disinterested legislator. Those who 
 knew him best in his own State were most con- 
 fident of his integrity and proudest of his record. 
 
 But the National Convention of 1876 was 
 rapidly approaching. The waves of enthusiasm 
 for the candidacy of Elaine were already rolling 
 high in Pennsylvania and other great States, and 
 they were not diminished by the humiliation he 
 had inflicted on the towering pride of the Southern 
 leaders in Congress. "Reform" candidates, 
 "machine" candidates, and candidates of all 
 kinds were at a discount compared with the 
 people's candidate whose name was upon every 
 tongue. It was necessary to dispose of him in 
 some way, and the baffled brigadiers were easily 
 persuaded to turn upon him one or more of those 
 mud machines their investigating committees. 
 
 Representative J. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky, 
 was pushed on by both these elements, to under- 
 take the task of demolishing Mr. Elaine in repu- 
 tation and prospects. The time was selected 
 shortly before the meeting of the Convention, so 
 that he might be aspersed, and yet have no oppor- 
 tunity to answer. The charges were first spread
 
 I IU <>|. I AMI v ,,. 1U.AIM . 
 
 through the public press in the form of vague 
 innuendo and surmise, so that it was almost 
 impossible to fix upon anything definite to contra- 
 dict, while yet the public mind was put on the 
 alert to receive something further, and hints 
 we- re given that astonishing revelations would 
 shortly be made. By degrees the allegations 
 narrowed down to some degree of definiteness. 
 It was not charged that Mr. Blaine was a perjurer, 
 a defaulter, a swindling contractor, or an oppressor 
 of the poor ; his moral character in private life 
 was admitted to be above reproach ; but the head 
 ami front of his offending was that he had held 
 stock or bonds of certain Western railways, and 
 it was charged that he was unduly favored in his 
 investments, on account of his official position. 
 The first accusations of this kind brought to his 
 notice were "like a dewdrop from the lion's 
 mane, shaken to air." It was published that Mr. 
 Blaine had been mixed up in a transaction with 
 Thomas A. Scott, then president of the Union 
 Pacific Railroad Company, by which he had 
 received, in some way, for some reason not stated, 
 $64,000 in cash, through the banking house of 
 Morton. Bliss & Co. Rising in his place, on April 
 24th, 1876, Mr. Blaine not only denied the story 
 in all its Protean forms, but exhibiting telegrams 
 from the treasurer and presiderft of the Union 
 Pacific, from Morton, Bliss & Co., and from 
 Thomas A. Scott, proving its utter falsity. He
 
 DARKER DAYS. 133 
 
 
 
 then went on, voluntarily, to explain his connec- 
 tion with the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad 
 Company, on which the charge had partly been 
 founded, showing that he had invested as any 
 private citizen or business man has a right to 
 invest his funds, and instead of a gainer had been 
 a heavy loser by the venture. He concluded in 
 these words : " I am now, Mr. Speaker, in the 
 fourteenth .year of a not inactive service in this 
 Hall. I have taken and given blows. I have no 
 doubt said many things in the heat of debate 
 which I would now gladly recall. I have no doubt, 
 given votes, which in fuller light I would gladly 
 change. But I have never done anything in my 
 public career, for which I could be put to the faint- 
 est "blush in any presence, or for which I can- 
 not answer to my constituents, my conscience and 
 the great Searcher of hearts." 
 
 On the ist of May Mr. Elaine was called upon 
 to deny another fabrication, which had appeared 
 in that consistently hostile sheet, the New York 
 Herald. It was to the effect that he had received 
 as a gift, certain bonds of the Kansas Pacific 
 Railroad, that there were witnesses of the transfer 
 to him, and that he was concerned in a suit about 
 them in the courts of Kansas. Mr. Elaine again 
 went to the trouble of obtaining letters from all 
 these pretended "witnesses," Messrs. Stewart and 
 Riddle, prominent lawyers in Washington, and 
 Messrs. Gibson and Macfarland, newspaper cor-
 
 134 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 respondents, expressly denying that they knew of 
 any such affair ; and General Thomas Ewing wrote 
 from Lancaster, O., that the Mr. Blaine suing in 
 Kansas was John E. Blaine, brother of the Ex- 
 Speaker, an early settler in the state, who had 
 bought stock in the Kansas Pacific before his elder 
 brother was even nominated for Congress. Mr. 
 Blaine concluded his personal explanation thus : 
 " Having now noticed the two that have been so 
 extensively circulated, I shall refrain from calling 
 the attention of the House to any others that may 
 be invented. To quote the language of another, 
 ' I do not propose to make my public life a per- 
 petual and uncomfortable flea-hunt, in the vain 
 effort to run down stories which have no basis in 
 truth, which are usually anonymous, and whose 
 total refutation brings no punishment to those who 
 have been guilty of originating them.' ' 
 
 The very next day a resolution was introduced 
 in the House to investigate an alleged purchase 
 by the Union Pacific Railroad Company for a 
 price "in excess of their actual or market value" 
 of certain bonds of the Little Rock and Fort 
 Smith Railroad. Mr. Tarbox, of Massachusetts 
 (who defeated and succeeded "Ben." Butler), 
 personally assured Mr. Frye that the resolution 
 was not aimed at his colleague, Mr. Blaine, and 
 it was adopted without objection. Almost the 
 moment the inquiry began it was apparent that 
 it was aimed wholly at Mr. Blaine. He did not
 
 DARKER DAYS. 135 
 
 complain of this. The gentleman from whom he 
 had previously received telegrams appeared in 
 person and fully vindicated him. He asked only 
 for an early report to the House and the country 
 to which he was entitled in justice ; but with 
 evident malice the proceedings were allowed to 
 drag and drag until, when all the witnesses pos- 
 sible had been called, the sub-committee of the 
 committee on the Judiciary, who had the matter 
 in charge, suddenly turned, under the pretext of 
 a general "drag-net" resolution adopted in the 
 previous January, to investigate a transaction of 
 the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, on a 
 newspaper report that there had been some effort 
 by Mr. Elaine to procure a share in that road for 
 a friend in Boston. While this particular mud- 
 machine was at work, a masked battery of the 
 same kind in another part of the Capitol, known 
 as the Real Estate Pool Committee, was desper- 
 ately endeavoring to find ammunition for a third 
 assault on the Maine statesman, without giving 
 him the slightest notice or opportunity to defend 
 himself. 
 
 An exposure of Mr. Elaine's private correspond- 
 ence was promised, and some witnesses from 
 Boston, named Fisher and Mulligan, were sum- 
 moned to Washington to disclose all they knew. 
 The lovers of scandal, for the sake of scandal, 
 were almost crazed with delight at the prospect of 
 the revelations. The whole phase of the question
 
 I. IFF. OF J.\Mi:s G. BLAINE. 
 
 was changed, however, by the fact that Mr. Elaine 
 possessed himself of the letters and of a memo- 
 randum, prepared by one of the witnesses, giving 
 an abstract of them. Many of Mr. Blaine's friends 
 thought for the day that he had obtained control 
 of the letters to prevent their publication, and 
 were inclined to believe that he had committed a 
 very grave blunder. 
 
 The sub-committee made a demand upon Mr. 
 Elaine for his letters. He produced in reply the 
 opinion of two distinguished counsel, the one a 
 Republican, the other a Democrat, ex-Juclge 
 Black and Hon. Matt. H. Carpenter, that the 
 letters were his own, and that no power could 
 rightfully force him to give them up. The com- 
 mittee did not venture to provoke a contest with 
 him on the legal question, or even to report his 
 refusal to the House, but of course the air was at 
 once filled with the most Outrageous slanders as 
 to what the letters contained, and they were made, 
 if possible, to do more mischief by their disap- 
 pearance than by their unjustifiable production. 
 
 It was now the 5th of June, and Mr. Blaine's 
 enemies began to triumph in the hope of his easy 
 defeat at Cincinnati. On that day he electrified 
 his persecutors and the country by producing and 
 reading in the House of Representatives, with 
 scathing comment, the very letters upon which so 
 much reliance had been placed. This has been 
 described as an act of bravado, but no one can
 
 DARKER DAYS. 137 
 
 read the faithful report of what he said upon the 
 occasion, dismissing all prejudice from mind, 
 without being impressed with the accent of deep 
 feeling, the heart-beats of a proud and honest 
 man, unfairly driven to bay, which seem to throb 
 in every word. He described the manner in 
 which he had been pursued by "investigations," 
 culminating in the Mulligan episode and its sequel. 
 He said that with clue respect to the powers of 
 this House, he defied them to compel him to pro- 
 duce the letters. His right to control" his private 
 correspondence was as sacred as his rights over 
 the nurture of his children. But, ready for any 
 extremity of contest or conflict in behalf of so 
 sacred a right, he was not afraid to show the 
 letters. "Thank God Almighty," he cried, "I 
 am not ashamed to show them. There they are," 
 brandishing the package in the faces of the 
 astounded Democrats, while the House and the 
 crowded galleries shook with thunders of applause 
 from his excited friends. "There is the very 
 original package. And with some sense of 
 humiliation, with a mortification that I do not pre- 
 tend to conceal, with a sense of outrage which I 
 think any man in my position would feel, I invite 
 the confidence of forty- four millions of my 
 countrymen while I read those letters from this 
 desk." 
 
 It took some time for the officers of the House 
 and the Speaker pro tempore (unfortunately the
 
 138 LIFE OF JAMF.S ('.. ULAINE. 
 
 Speaker, the dignified and respected Michael C. 
 Kerr, was now suffering from the illness which 
 afterward proved fatal), to bring order out of the 
 confusion which ensued. The letters, full of per- 
 sonal matters of Mr. Blaine's business difficulties 
 and other confidential, but never criminating 
 details, were then read by him. It is unnecessary 
 to repeat them here. Fair-minded men have long 
 since agreed in an opinion of their harmlessness. 
 The few sentences in the whole collection which, 
 detached from the context, twisted and perverted 
 by malicious minds and tongues, could bear the 
 slightest evil import, have had the changes rung 
 upon them ad nauseam. It must be remembered 
 that these letters were picked out of correspon- 
 dence extending over fifteen years. "The man 
 did his worst, the very worst he could," as Mr. 
 Blaine justly said, "out of the most intimate busi- 
 ness correspondence of my life. I ask, gentle- 
 men, if any of you, and I ask it with some feeling, 
 can stand a severer scrutiny of, or more rigid 
 investigation into your private correspondence ? 
 That was the worst he could do." 
 
 A still more cutting exposure was in store for 
 the ex-Confederates and their allies. Only one 
 witness was lacking for Mr. Blaine to do what can 
 so seldom be done by the accused, affirmatively 
 prove his innocence. Mr. Josiah Caldwell, who 
 had knowledge of the exact transactions in con- 
 troversy, was traveling in Europe. Both Mr.
 
 DARKER DAYS. 139 
 
 Blaine and the committee were seeking his address, 
 the one to fully vindicate himself, the other in the 
 hope that something- damaging might yet be 
 developed. After the reading of the letters was 
 completed, Mr. Blaine turned upon Mr. Knott, 
 the chairman of the Judiciary committee, and 
 demanded whether the committee had sent a 
 despatch to Mr. Caldwell. Mr. Knott faltered : he 
 said, " Judge Hunton and myself have both 
 endeavored to get Mr. Caldwell's address, and 
 have not yet got it." 
 
 " Has the gentleman from Kentucky received a 
 despatch from Caldwell?" asked Mr. Blaine, with 
 visibly rising indignation. 
 
 " I will explain that directly," replied Mr. 
 Knott. 
 
 " I want a categorical answer." 
 
 " I have received a dispatch purporting to be 
 from Mr. Caldwell." 
 
 " You did ? " 
 
 " How did you know I got it ? " queried Mr. 
 Knott. 
 
 " When did you get it? " was the sharp response. 
 " I want the gentleman from Kentucky to answer 
 when he got it." 
 
 "Answer my question first." 
 
 "I never heard of it until yesterday." 
 
 " How did you hear it ? " 
 
 " I heard you got a despatch last Thursday 
 morning at eight o'clock, from Josiah Caldwell, 
 
 9
 
 140 LIFE OK JA.MF.S G. ELAINE. 
 
 completely and absolutely exonerating me from 
 this charge," cried Mr. Blaine, with a blaze of 
 wrath no longer repressed, "and," striding down 
 the aisle and launching the full force of the accu- 
 sation right in the faces of his would-be persecutors, 
 
 " Y<>U IIAYi; sriTRKSSKI) IT!" 
 
 The mere tone and gesture of the man would 
 have carried away an audience less excited and 
 wrought-up than the one that heard him, or one 
 less devoted to fair play, than an assemblage of 
 so many Americans. Taken altogether, with the 
 whole occasion that had inspired it, and the pop- 
 ularity of the orator who had assumed the aggres- 
 sive so effectively, the sensation produced was 
 something indescribable. Another wild storm of 
 applause greeted the ex-Speaker. 
 
 " I want the gentleman to answer," he persisted, 
 with stern emphasis, and then after an ominous 
 pause. " Does the gentleman from Kentucky 
 decline to answer?" 
 
 The Speaker pro tcmporc came to the rescue of 
 his overwhelmed and speechless party associates, 
 with the demand that order be restored and 
 unauthorized persons removed from the floor of 
 the hall. 
 
 The contest was then renewed over Mr. Blame's 
 motion that the suppressed despatch should be 
 brought to light, and should be printed with the 
 volume of the testimony taken by the committee. 
 
 Hy every device of parliamentary tactics and
 
 DARKER DAYS. 
 
 with the strength of their majority, the Democrats 
 fought against this simple measure of justice, and 
 were as firmly withstood by Mr. Elaine, contending 
 almost single-handed for the prompt and timely 
 vindication to which he was entitled. So far did he 
 tower above his petty assailants, and so often did 
 he seem almost to sweep them before him in the 
 torrent of his just resentment, that it will be 
 remembered Mr. John Young Brown, of Ken- 
 tucky, was led, a few days later, June 9, to rise 
 and inquire in a disgusted tone of the Speaker 
 pro tern: 
 
 " I want simply to know whether this is the 
 American Congress - " 
 
 " That is what I want to know," interjected Mr. 
 Elaine, with his usual quickness. 
 
 " Or a school in which we are merely pupils 
 of the schoolmaster from Maine ? " 
 
 " It is the most surprising American Congress 
 that ever assembled," said the "schoolmaster 
 from Maine," in a tone of frank explanation that 
 again evoked the cheers and laughter that relieved 
 the overstrained nerves of the immense audience, 
 in which Mr. Elaine was probably the most self- 
 possessed individual. 
 
 The final result of these investigations was a 
 negative instead of an affirmative acquittal of 
 Mr. Elaine. There was a general feeling among 
 men of all parties that it was unfair to drag the 
 private correspondence of any man before the
 
 142 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAIXE. 
 
 public, and that if such invasion of personal right 
 were approved by the popular opinion of the 
 country, it would lead to scandals innumerable, 
 which in turn might be followed by tragedies the 
 most deplorable. The American sense of fair 
 play, which is always to be trusted, decided that 
 a public man does not give up his private rights, 
 and that among the sacred of private rights is the 
 right of every man to control his own personal 
 correspondence. 
 
 After the Cincinnati Convention the investiga- 
 tions simply died a natural death or were allowed 
 to drop. The public opinion of the country was 
 very decidedly against the whole proceeding, and 
 the Democrats themselves, finding that they had 
 been put into a false position by their leaders, 
 became discontented at the course of Mr. Knott 
 and his associates. The best elements in the 
 party called for a halt in the proceedings. 
 
 The result of the combined attempt to put down 
 the people's favorite, and keep him down, would 
 have been a complete failure, except for an occur- 
 rence which no one for a moment expected. 
 
 On the close and oppressive Sunday before the 
 nominating Convention met, Mr. Elaine, despite 
 the strain to which he had been subjected, and 
 which tested even his remarkable pJiysiquc to the 
 utmost, went, according to his custom, to the Con- 
 gregational Church, in Washington. The church 
 faces South and in ascending the broad unshaded
 
 DARKER DAYS. 143 
 
 steps, in the full beams of an unseasonably torrid 
 sun, Mr. Elaine, without warning, reeled and fell. 
 He was quickly raised and carried back to his 
 home, where he lay insensible, with all that match- 
 less eloquence silenced, that vigor paralyzed, and, 
 to the anxious eyes of friends, his life hanging in 
 the balance during two days, while his rivals did 
 their worst against his prospects at Cincinnati. 
 The Convention was distracted between hopes 
 and fears. Dr. D. W. Bliss (who afterwards at- 
 tended President Garfield) soon pronounced his 
 distinguished patient out of danger. Other re- 
 ports were busily spread in the Convention. It 
 was whispered about that even if the prospective 
 standard-bearer escaped death, his mind would 
 never be the same grand organ that it had been, 
 a wholly baseless canard, which time has abund- 
 antly refuted. Unfortunately it had its effect, in 
 alarming some of the delegates, and though Gen- 
 eral Logan, who was present from Illinois, gener- 
 ously cried : "We will vote for his corpse if he 
 dies," his friends met with their first great, bitter 
 disappointment. None of his avowed rivals tri- 
 umphed over the prostrate giant, but the " dark 
 horse" policy resulted in the nomination of Mr. 
 Hayes. 
 
 Mr. Blaine received on the first ballot 285 votes, 
 lacking 93 of the nomination. On the seventh 
 ballot his vote rose to 345, or 33 less than a 
 majority. When the news came of the Conven-
 
 144 ' "'' '"' JAMF.S ('.. IU.AINE. 
 
 tion's choice, he alone of the little group in his 
 sick room, retained perfect composure, and after 
 a slight exclamation of surprise, wrote the proper 
 despatches of congratulation to the candidate, and 
 thanks to his own supporters. 
 
 It may be remarked, in passing, that the story 
 that his sun-stroke saved him from further inves- 
 tigation by Congress is cruelly and absurdly false. 
 The investigations had spent themselves, and their 
 promoters had taken care to do all in their power 
 before the Convention met. His sudden attack 
 of vertigo was an unmingled misfortune, first to 
 his physical health at the time, and second to the 
 devoted friends who had set their hearts upon his 
 nomination.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 IT is a notable circumstance to which Mr. Elaine 
 has often adverted, that upon first entering Con- 
 gress he gained, by a series of coincidences, two 
 firm and valued friends, the regard of the three 
 for one another never afterwards suffering dimi- 
 nution or a shadow of change. Upon standing 
 up to be sworn in he found himself side by side 
 with a Mr. Allison of Iowa, and a Mr. Garfield of 
 Ohio, who, like himself, were entering upon a new 
 experience. The three were entire strangers to 
 one another. When the seats came to be drawn 
 they found that they were again thrown in close 
 proximity, almost within arm's length, near the 
 centre aisle. They walked down from the Capi- 
 tol together, on their way to their respective lodg- 
 ings on the first day of their service, and if their 
 conversation was not on such lofty themes as the 
 reader might expect from their characters, it was 
 on a topic that led more quickly to intimacy and 
 good-humor the price and quality of board in 
 over-crowded Washington. All were before many 
 years talked of as Presidential possibilities ; one 
 of them filled the high office and perished in it, and 
 
 145
 
 146 INK "I J.\Mi:s <-. 111. AIM . 
 
 another is now the Republican candidate. This 
 never made them rivals. On the contrary, the 
 grand qualities they had in common warm-heart- 
 edness, fidelity, trustfulness drew them ever into 
 firmer alliance, broken only by the sad death of 
 the one. in the chief place in whose cabinet 
 another of the three had been installed. 
 
 Nearly all of Mr. Blaine's closer friends were 
 surprised at his decision to accept the office of 
 Secretary of State, and many regretted his con- 
 clusion, abandoning, as he did, the brilliant career 
 open to him in the Senate of the United States, 
 where he could have remained, by repeated elec- 
 tions, during the remainder of his life. 
 
 It will be remembered that Mr. Garfield visited 
 Washington in November after his election. In 
 a quiet upper room in Mr. Blaine's Fifteenth street 
 house, late in that month, Mr. Garfield and Mr. 
 Blaine breakfasted together, and discussed, long 
 and earnestly, the general situation. Mr. Blaine's 
 family was still absent in New England. At this 
 interview, Mr. Garfield with all the fervor and 
 earnestness peculiar to his nature, tendered to 
 the great Maine commoner the leading place in 
 his cabinet. Mr. Blaine, taken by surprise at this 
 unexpected offer, asked that time be given him for 
 consideration. For nearly three weeks he bal- 
 anced the subject in his mind, and consulted the 
 few friends who were admitted into the charmed 
 circle of his confidence ; and it may here be
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 recorded, that, almost without exception, they 
 urged him to decline the portfolio of the State 
 Department, and remain in the Senate. The 
 unusual friendship and intimacy which had existed 
 for well nigh twenty years between Garfield and 
 Elaine, their cordial confidence, and their belief in 
 each others greatness and patriotism, may have 
 had its influence no doubt did have its influence 
 in determining Mr. Elaine's decision. 
 
 The Secretaryship of State is not an office to 
 be lightly refused; especially when the President 
 of the nation is one who commands the respect 
 and confidence of the whole people, as Mr. Gar- 
 field unquestionably did. It should not be forgot- 
 ten that the office has been filled by the greatest 
 statesmen of the country. Thomas Jefferson was 
 the first appointment; following him was Edmund 
 Randolph, also of Virginia ; then came Timothy 
 Pickering, of Massachusetts ; then John Marshall, 
 of Virginia ; then James Madison, of Virginia ; 
 next, another honored Virginian, James Monroe ; 
 then John Ouincy Adams, and Henry Clay, of 
 Kentucky, who, like Mr. Elaine, was not only a 
 member, but three times Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives, and subsequently a Senator ; 
 then Martin Van Buren ; then Edward Livingston, 
 Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, James Buch- 
 anan; again Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, 
 and William L. Marcy, of New York ; next came 
 Lewis Cass, -of Michigan; then Jeremiah S.
 
 1 "I- <!' JAMKS (;. r.l.AINK. 
 
 lilack, William H. Sewarcl, and those of later date, 
 whose names are familiar to the youngest reader. 
 l ; ive of the statesmen here mentioned became 
 the Chief Magistrates of the nation. Possibly 
 the contemplation of this long line of distin- 
 guished occupants of the office may have had 
 some slight influence on Mr. Elaine's decision. 
 At any rate, he accepted the offer with the same 
 cordiality with which it had been made, and in 
 due time he wrote to President Garfield the letter 
 of acceptance as follows : 
 
 " WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 20, 1880. 
 " My Dear Garfield : 
 
 "Your generous invitation to enter your cabinet as 
 Secretary of State has been under consideration for more 
 than three weeks. The thought had really never occurred 
 to my mind, until at our last conference you presented it 
 with such cogent arguments in its favor, and with such 
 warmth of personal friendship in aid of your offer. I 
 know that an early answer is desirable, and I have waited 
 only long enough to consider the subject in all its bear- 
 ings, and to make up my mind definitely and conclu- 
 sively. I now say to you, in the same cordial spirit in 
 which you have invited me, that I accept the position. 
 It is no affectation for me to add that I make this decision, 
 not for the honor of promotion it gives me in public, but 
 because I think I can be useful to the country and to the 
 party; useful to you as the responsible leader of the 
 party, and the great head of the government. I am 
 influenced, somewhat, perhaps, by the shower of letters 
 I have received, urging me to accept, written to me in 
 consequence of the mere unauthorized newspaper report,
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 
 
 149 
 
 that you had been pleased to offer me the place. While 
 I have received these letters from all sections of the 
 Union, I have been especially pleased, and even surprised, 
 at the cordial and widely extended feeling in my favor 
 throughout New England, where I had expected to 
 encounter local jealousy, and, perhaps, rival aspirations. 
 In our new relation, I shall give all that I am, and all 
 that I can hope to be, freely and joyfully to your service. 
 You need no pledges of my loyalty in heart and act. 
 I should be false to myself did I not prove true, both to 
 the great trust you confide to me, and to your own per- 
 sonal and political fortunes in the present and the future. 
 " Your administration must be made brilliantly suc- 
 cessful, and strong in the confidence and pride of the 
 people, not at all directing its energies for re-election, 
 and yet compelling that result by the logic of events, 
 and by the imperious necessities of the situation to that 
 most desirable consummation. I feel, next to yourself, I 
 can possibly contribute as much influence as any other 
 man. I say this not from egotism or vain glory, but 
 merely as a deduction from a plain analysis of the politi- 
 cal forces which have been at work in the country for 
 two years past, and which have been significantly shown 
 in two great conventions. I accept it as one of the hap- 
 piest circumstances connected with this affair, that in 
 allying my political fortunes with yours, or, rather, for 
 the time, merging mine in yours, my heart goes with my 
 head, and that I cany to you, not only political support, 
 but personal and devoted friendship. I can but regard it 
 as somewhat remarkable, that two men of the same age, 
 entering Congress at the same time, influenced by the 
 same aims and cherishing the same principles, should 
 never for a single moment, in our eighteen years of close 
 intimacy, have had a word or coolness, and that our
 
 I5O I III. iK JAM MS (I. P.I.AINK. 
 
 friendship has steadily groun witli our growth and 
 strengthened with our strength. It is this fact that has 
 lead me to the conclusion embodied in this letter, for, 
 however, much, my dear Garfield, I might admire you as 
 a statesman, I would not enter your cabinet if I did not 
 believe in you as a man, and love you as a friend. 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 "JAMES G. BLAINE." 
 
 The terrible tragedy of that unhappy second 
 day of July, 1880, which is mentioned even now 
 with a shudder, deprived the country at once of a 
 great President and a great Secretary, who, had he 
 remained in office, would undoubtedly have made 
 for himself a name, second to none of those illus- 
 trious ones recorded above. 
 
 There was a confidence between Mr. Garfield 
 and his chief cabinet adviser, such as rarely exists 
 in official relationship, and nothing annoyed the 
 President more than the attempt to hold Mr. 
 Blaine responsible for every act of the adminis- 
 tration. Under date of May 29, 1881, in a letter 
 to a personal friend, in Mr. Garfield's own hand- 
 writing, a letter which still exists, he used the fol- 
 lowing words : "The attempt to shift the fight to 
 Mr. Blaine's shoulders is as weak as it is unjust. 
 The fact is, no member of the cabinet behaves 
 with any more respect to the rights of his brother 
 members than Mr. Blaine. It should be under- 
 stood that the administration is not meddling with 
 New York State politics ; it only defends itself 
 when assailed."
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 153 
 
 One of the best corrections of the false ideas 
 industriously spread of Mr. Elaine's policy while 
 Secretary of State, in fact the very best, is afforded 
 by a close study of his own words and acts, as 
 opposed to the wild misrepresentations of his 
 traducers. A project which, when it came from 
 his original, inventive mind, attracted most hearty 
 praise from all lovers of America and 'of peace, 
 has been so industriously ridiculed and belittled 
 since that time, that its gAnd scope and attrac- 
 tiveness have been almost entirely obscured. 
 This was the so-called Peace Congress, or general 
 convention of delegates from the independent 
 powers on the Western Continent, proposed to 
 be held in the city of Washington, on the 24th 
 day of November, 1882. The primary object, 
 like that of the Congresses held in Europe, was to 
 be the restoration and preservation of peace (war 
 was then raging between Chili and Peru) among 
 the nations of America, but of course there could 
 be no doubt that the meeting face to face of the 
 representatives of so many nations and climes, 
 the free interchange of views, the expressions of 
 the common hopes and aspirations of the New 
 World, would tend to knit closer the ties uniting 
 each to all, and to spread that fruitful conservator 
 of peace, international commerce. How little 
 there was in it of any thoughts of conquest or 
 domination by the United States is witnessed by 
 the form of the letter of invitation, which would
 
 154 1J1 ' i: "' JAMKS C.. r.l.AlNE. 
 
 deserve reproduction, if only as a masterly state 
 paper. The follKnving copy was sent to our min- 
 ister t<> the Argentine Republic: 
 
 " DEPAKTMI.NT OF STATE, ) 
 
 "WASHINGTON, November 29, 1881. j 
 
 " SIR : The attitude of the United States with respect 
 to the question of general peace on the American conti- 
 nent is well known through its persistent efforts for years 
 past to avert the evils of warfare, or, these efforts failing, 
 to bring positive conflicts to an end through pacific 
 counsels or the advocacy of impartial arbitration. 
 
 " This attitude has been consistently maintained, and 
 always with such fairness, as to leave no room for imput- 
 ing to our government any motive, except the humane 
 and disinterested one of saving the kindred states of the 
 American continent from the burdens of war. The posi- 
 tion of the United States as the leading Power of the New 
 World, might well give to its Government a claim to 
 authoritative utterance for the purpose of quieting discord 
 among its neighbors, with all of whom the most friendly 
 relations exist. Nevertheless, the good offices of this 
 government are not, and have not at any time been 
 tendered with a show of dictation or compulsion, but 
 only as exhibiting the solicitous good-will of a 
 common friend. 
 
 " For some years past a growing disposition has been 
 manifested by certain States of Central and South America 
 to refer disputes affecting grave questions of international 
 relationship and boundaries to arbitration rather than to 
 the sword. It has been on several such occasions a 
 source of profound satisfaction to the Government of the 
 United States to see that this country is in a large meas- 
 ure looked to by all the American Powers as their friend
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 155 
 
 and mediator. The just and impartial counsel of the 
 President in such cases has never been withheld, and his 
 efforts have been rewarded by the prevention of sanguin- 
 ary strife or angry contention between peoples whom we 
 regard as brethren. 
 
 " The existence of this growing tendency convinces the 
 President that the time is ripe for a proposal that shall 
 enlist the good will and active co-operation of a,ll the 
 States of the Western Hemisphere, both North and 
 South, in the interest of humanity and for the common 
 weal of Nations. He conceives that none of the Govern- 
 ments of America can be less alive than our own to the 
 dangers and horrors of a state of war, and especially 
 of war between kinsmen. He is sure that none of 
 the chiefs of Governments on the continent can be less 
 sensitive than he is to the sacred duty of making every 
 endeavor to do away with the chances of fratricidal strife. 
 And he looks with hopeful confidence to such active 
 assistance from them as will serve to show the broadness 
 of our common humanity, and the strength of the ties 
 which bind us all together as a great and harmonious 
 system of American commonwealths. 
 
 " Impressed by these views, the President extends to all 
 the independent countries of North and South America 
 an earnest invitation to participate in a general Congress, 
 to be held in the city of Washington, on the 24th day of 
 November, 1882, for the purpose of considering and dis- 
 cussing the methods of preventing war between the 
 Nations of America. He desires that the attention of the 
 Congress shall be strictly confined to this one great 
 object ; that its sole aim shall be to seek a way of perma- 
 nently averting the horrors of cruel and bloody combat 
 between countries, oftenest of one blood and speech, or 
 the even worse calamity of internal commotion and civil
 
 156 I. IKK >K JAMKS C. IM.AIN'K. 
 
 strife ; that it shall regard the burdensome and far-reach- 
 ing consequences of such struggles, the legacies of 
 exhausted finances, of oppressive debt, of onerous taxa- 
 tion, of ruined cities, of paraly/.cd industries, of devastated 
 fields, of ruthless conscription, of the slaughter of men, 
 of the grief of the widow and the orphan, of embittered 
 resentments that long survive those who provoked them, 
 and heavily afflict the innocent generations that come 
 after. 
 
 "The President is especially desirous to have it under- 
 stood that, in putting forth this invitation, the United 
 State's does not assume the position of counselling, or 
 attempting, through the voice of the Congress, to counsel, 
 any determinate solution of existing questions which 
 may now divide any of the countries of America. Such 
 questions cannot properly come before the Congress. 
 Its mission is higher. It is to provide for the interests of 
 all in the future, not to settle the individual differences of 
 the present. For this reason especially the President has 
 indicated a day for the assembling of the Congress so far 
 in the future as to have good ground for hope that by the 
 the time named the present situation on the South Pacific 
 Coast will be happily terminated, and that those engaged 
 in the contest ma}' take peaceable part in the discussion 
 and solution of the general question affecting in an equal 
 degree the well-being of all. 
 
 " It seems also desirable to disclaim in advance any pur- 
 pose on the part of the United States to prejudge the 
 issues t< be presented to the Congress. It is far from 
 the intent of this Government to appear before the Con- 
 gress as in any sense the Protector of its neighbors or the 
 predestined and necessary arbitrator of their disputes. 
 The United States will enter into the deliberations of the 
 Congress on the same footing as the other Powers rep re-
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 157 
 
 sented, and with the loyal determination to approach any 
 proposed solution, not merely in its own interest, or with 
 a view to asserting its own power, but as a single mem- 
 ber among many co-ordinate and co-equal States. So 
 far as the influence of this Government may be potential, 
 it will be exerted in the direction of conciliating whatever 
 conflicting interests of blood, or government or historical 
 traditions may necessarily come together in response to 
 a call embracing such vast and diverse elements. 
 
 " You will present these views to the minister of Foreign 
 Relations of the Argentine Republic, enlarging, if need 
 be, in such terms as will readily occur to you, upon the 
 great mission which it is within the power of the proposed 
 Congress to accomplish in the interest of humanity, and 
 upon the firm purpose of the United States to maintain a 
 position of the most absolute and impartial friendship 
 toward all. You will thereupon, in the name of the 
 President of the United States, tender to His Excellency, 
 the President of the Argentine Republic, a formal invita- 
 tion to send two commissioners to the Congress, provided 
 with such powers on behalf of their Government as will 
 enable them to consider the questions brought before 
 that body within the limit of submission contemplated by 
 this invitation. The United States, as well as the other 
 Powers, will, in like manner, be represented by two com- 
 missioners, so that equality and impartiality will be amply 
 secured in the proceedings of the Congress. 
 
 " In delivering this invitation through the minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, you will read this despatch to him and 
 leave with him a copy, intimating that an answer is 
 desired by this Government as promptly as the just con- 
 sideration of so important a proposition will permit. 
 
 " I am, etc., JAMES G. ELAINE."
 
 LIFE OF JAMES C. UI.AINE. 
 
 After this, the reader is better prepared to 
 judge of Mr. Blaine's "dangerous diplomacy," 
 and the extent of his desire for a foreign war. 
 
 The invitation, it is well known, was canceled 
 and recalled after Mr. Elaine left the Cabinet, and 
 it was perhaps as well that the plan which he had 
 conceived should be left unexecuted, rather than 
 tried abortively, without his presence and coun- 
 sel to carry it to the full success for which he had 
 hoped. 
 
 Mr. Blaine's term as Secretary of State was 
 brief indeed, but more crowded with events and 
 distractions of the most trying nature than that of 
 any of his predecessors except, perhaps, Mr. 
 Seward. He could scarcely have been censured 
 if the terrible event of which he was an eye- 
 witness, and the distressing summer which 
 
 o 
 
 followed, had paralyzed his energies and made 
 his public record blank. Yet it might almost be 
 said, that one reading only the public record of 
 that year would never imagine that the Secretary 
 of State had been obliged to mourn the sufferings 
 and death his cherished friend, the Chief Magis- 
 trate, and turn from the funeral ceremonies to 
 assist in starting a new and untried Administration 
 upon its way.. 
 
 No one can exaggerate what Mr. Elaine was to 
 President Garfield, and to the country, through 
 the " terrible months," July, August and Septem- 
 ber, 1 88 1, and it would not be possible to
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 159 
 
 describe it fully. He stood between the two as 
 the balance-wheel, if not the source of power, and 
 saw to all emergencies, from the surroundings of 
 the sick room to the meetings of the Cabinet. Few 
 can have forgotten how he scattered the fogs, 
 raised by the solemn muddle of medical terms 
 in the bulletins, issued by the physicians, under the 
 direction of Dr. Bliss, and how he bravely pre- 
 pared the public mind for the worst, in his despatch 
 to Minister Lowell in London, August 22d, at 1 1 
 P. M. That despatch contained the first truth 
 that had been given to the public since the fatal 
 shot was fired. It was like the flying open of a 
 lantern on a dark and, alas! a hopeless night. 
 With his nervous, strenuous way of stating facts, 
 the Secretary referred briefly to the liquid food 
 which the patient had been able to take that day, 
 and continued: "But his general condition is 
 serious, if not critical." The doctors had darkened 
 counsel with words, and even resorted to prevari- 
 cation, of course, "professionally." Mr. Blaine 
 spoke plain English about what he thought the 
 world ought to know. " He is very weak, exhausted 
 and emaciated, not weighing over 125 or 130 
 pounds. His weight when wounded was from 
 205 to 210 pounds. His failure to regain strength 
 is the one feature which gives special uneasiness 
 and apprehension." After this presentation of 
 vital facts, no person of sense was in danger of 
 being taken by surprise when the worst occurred,
 
 I6O LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 and the physicians' bulletins were thereafter dis- 
 credited in waiting for what Mr. Elaine might say. 
 
 One of the most urgent questions which Mr. 
 Elaine encountered, in our foreign relations, was 
 that of the inter-oceanic canals, proposed in 
 Central America. On the 24th of June he issued 
 a circular-letter to our representatives abroad, 
 setting forth the settled objection of this Govern- 
 ment to any concerted action of the European 
 powers, for the purpose of guaranteeing the 
 neutrality of such a canal, or determining the 
 condition of its use, and furthermore calling 
 attention to the paramount right and duty in this 
 particular imposed on the United States by its 
 treaty with the former Republic of New Granada, 
 now Columbia, signed in 1846. 
 
 The tragedy of the 2d of July postponed further 
 action, but on the igth of November Mr. Elaine 
 addressed to Mr. Lowell a letter, which awakened 
 wide attention, instructing him to apply to the 
 British Government for its consent to the mutual 
 abrogation of certain clauses in the Clayton 
 Bulwer treaty of April 19, 1850, which had become 
 harmful and inappropriate in the time since 
 elapsed. This treaty, as Mr. Elaine showed, vir- 
 tually concedes to Great Britain the control of any 
 inter-oceanic canal that may be constructed in 
 Nicaragua, because, when it prohibits any fortifi- 
 cations commanding the canal, or the use of 
 military forces by land, it does not prohibit
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. l6l 
 
 any naval force (in which arm Great Britain 
 possesses such preponderance), from coming near 
 enough to dominate or be ready to seize the 
 canal. He then pointed out that merely to hold 
 the distant dependency of India, Great Britain had 
 established a belt of posts half way round the 
 globe, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus, in the 
 Mediterranean ; Egypt, Aden, and the island of 
 Perim, which makes the Red Sea mare clausum. 
 "It would," he said, "in the judgment of the 
 President, be no more unreasonable for the 
 United States to demand a share in these fortifi- 
 cations, or their absolute neutralization, than for 
 England to make the same demand in perpetuity 
 from the United States with respect to the transit 
 across the American continent." This point he 
 illustrated, with great force and cogency, and then 
 went on to speak of the canal under way at 
 Panama, under French auspices. If the Clayton- 
 Bulwer treaty applies to this, he said, then while 
 Great Britain and the United States "each remains 
 bound to the other in common helplessness, a 
 third power, or a fourth, or a combination of 
 many, may step in and give direction to the pro- 
 ject which the Bulwer-Clayton treaty assumed to 
 be under the sole control of the two English- 
 speaking nations. " He referred to the fact, that 
 in 1850 help was expected from British capital in 
 the construction of a Nicaragua canal, an expecta- 
 tion that had not been realized, and which had
 
 162 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 now lost all importance. For these, and the other 
 reasons set forth in the letter, Mr. Blaine sug- 
 gested the following principal changes in the 
 treaty : 
 
 "First. Every part of the treaty which forbids 
 the United States fortifying the canal and holding 
 the political control of it in conjunction with the 
 country in which it is located to be cancelled. 
 
 " Second. Every part of the treaty in which 
 Great Britain and the United States agree to 
 make no acquisition of territory in Central 
 America to remain in full force. * * * The 
 acquisition of military and naval stations neces- 
 sary for the protection of the canal, and volun- 
 tarily ceded to the United States by the Central 
 American States, is not to be regarded as a vio- 
 lation of the provision contained in the foregoing. 
 
 " Third. The United States will not object to 
 maintaining the clause looking to the establish- 
 ment of a free port at each end of whatever 
 canal may be constructed, if England desires it to 
 be retained." 
 
 The fourth and fifth suggestions referring 
 respectively to the obsolete clause covering the 
 Panama and Tehuan tepee railway, and the incom- 
 plete clause intended to govern the distance from 
 the mouths of the canal where captures might be 
 made in time of war, were of less importance. 
 Mr. Blaine concluded with an earnest expression 
 of the respect of the United States for all the
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE 163 
 
 rights of even its smallest neighbors on this con- 
 tinent, but its unalterable objection to the med- 
 dling of European powers in the isthmus canal 
 question. ''It is the fixed purpose of the United 
 States to confine it strictly and solely as an 
 American question, to be dealt with and decided 
 by the American Government." He added, that 
 the present was thought as an opportunity for the 
 readjustment of all difficulties, because at no time, 
 since the peace of 1783, had the relations between 
 the two Governments been so cordial and friendly. 
 
 About a week later, Lord Granville's deferred 
 reply to the circular-letter of June came to hand. 
 It was brief and non-committal, but as Mr. Elaine 
 had already anticipated it asserted " that the posi- 
 tion of Great Britain and the United States with 
 reference to the canal, irrespective of the magni- 
 tude of the commercial relations of the former 
 power with countries to and from which, if com- 
 pleted, it will form the highway, is determined by 
 the engagements entered into by them respect- 
 ively in the convention, which was signed at Wash- 
 ington on the i Qth of April, 1850, commonly 
 known as the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and Her 
 Majesty's Government rely with confidence upon 
 the observance of all the engagements of that 
 treaty." 
 
 This gave Mr. Elaine opportunity for a 
 rejoinder which must be regarded as one of his 
 ablest compositions. In a letter to Mr. Lowell,
 
 1 64 LIFE OK JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 covering but a few pages of the diplomatic reports, 
 he rapidly piled up, in convincing array, the his- 
 torical facts which showed that the Clayton-Bul- 
 wer Treaty could by no possibility be regarded as 
 the final word in the isthmus canal debate, but 
 that it had, if anything, added to the causes of dif- 
 ference by its vagueness of expression and the 
 numerous topics which it introduced only to leave 
 them at loose ends. He showed that in a short 
 time after its adoption, the British Government 
 itself proposed the extreme measure of referring 
 the doubtful clauses to a friendly power for arbi- 
 tration. Six years later the pretensions of the 
 British Government over parts of Nicaragua and 
 the coast islands, led to the attempt to reconcile 
 the differences of opinion by the Clarendon- 
 Dallas Treaty of 1856, which was never ratified. 
 After this, President Buchanan and Secretary 
 Cass, pressed in the strongest terms for the abro- 
 gation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and were 
 met by the British Goverment with the renewed 
 proposal to refer it to arbitration. To this the 
 American reply was, that it would be absurd to 
 refer a question of the interpretation of the Eng- 
 lish language, arising between two powers who 
 possessed it in common, to a third power, having 
 a different vernacular. When Lord Malmesbury 
 succeeded Lord Clarendon in the foreign office, 
 he frankly confessed to Lord Napier, the minister 
 at Washington, that the treaty had been " a source
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 165 
 
 of increasing embarrassment " to both countries, 
 but by this time, Sir William Ouseley was on his 
 way to Central America to negotiate treaties with 
 some of the States there, and as the Clayton-Bul- 
 wer compact did, after all, restrain British acquisi- 
 tiveness to a certain extent, General Cass cau- 
 tiously refrained from proposing its abrogation at 
 that time. This kind of triple deadlock, therefore, 
 resulted in nothing but increasing the chronic dis- 
 content of both nations with their mutual obliga- 
 tions. "It will be seen," said Mr. Elaine, in clos- 
 ing up, " that from the time of its conclusion in 
 1850 until the end of 1858, its provisions were 
 thrice made the basis of a proposal to arbitrate 
 as to their meaning, that modification and abroga- 
 tion have been alike contingently considered, and 
 that its vexations and imperfect character has 
 been repeatedly recognized on both sides. The 
 present proposal of this government is to free it 
 from those embarrassing features, and leave it, as 
 its framers intended it should be, a full and perfect 
 settlement, for all time, of all possible issues 
 between the United States and Great Britain with 
 regard to Central America." 
 
 While Mr. Blaine was thus vindicating the 
 hegemony, as Dr. Liebir called it, or leadership 
 of the United States among the States of North 
 and Central America, and carrying on at the 
 same time an earnest correspondence in regard 
 to the treaty rights of American fishermen in
 
 166 LIFE OF JAMKS G. BLAINK. 
 
 Canadian waters, he was called upon to face a 
 still greater responsibility in our South American 
 relations. The fierce war between Chili and the 
 allied powers of Peru and Bolivia, which he more 
 than suspected had been stirred up by designing 
 influences emanating from Europe, had taken 
 more and more the form of a struggle for com- 
 mercial supremacy, in which Chili, backed by 
 English, and possibly by German, secret aid, had 
 completely overthrown Peru, and by keeping that 
 country in anarchy, was preparing to rob her of 
 all her sources of wealth and leave almost an 
 ungoverned desert Equally friendly to both 
 republics, the United States could not but view 
 this deplorable condition of affairs with the grav- 
 est concern. While Peru was in danger of 
 relapsing almost into barbarism, Chili was ambi- 
 tiously seizing more territory than her slender 
 resources could really assimilate, all progress on 
 the Pacific coast of South America was likely to 
 be retarded, the interests of the United States 
 were ignored, and no class was gaining but selfish 
 traders and speculators from the Old World. 
 At the same time the regard which the Colossus 
 of the North was bound to show toward the inde- 
 pendence and free action of the weaker republics 
 made the task of negotiation or interference a 
 very delicate one. 
 
 Mr. Blaine was not favored in his work by the 
 assistance of a skilled diplomatic corps. Mr.
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 167 
 
 Hurlbut had been sent to Peru and Mr. Kilpat- 
 rick to Chili, rather in consideration of their 
 services as generals in the army than on account 
 of fitness for diplomacy. The latter was in 
 declining health, and was married to a devoted 
 Chilian lady, which could not but tend to distract 
 his sympathies to a greater or less extent. Mr. 
 Elaine had almost as much trouble in controlling 
 his own ministers in these remote regions, treat- 
 ing with the excited belligerents, and his confi- 
 dential despatches were often in terms of sharp 
 reproof. Finally he adopted the course of send- 
 ing Mr. William Henry Trescott, a gentleman of 
 most thorough experience in Spanish-American 
 affairs, accompanied by Mr. Walker Elaine, the 
 Third Assistant Secretary of State, and a gentle- 
 man of rare learning and sagacity, as a special 
 mission to offer the friendly services of the 
 United States in negotiating a humane and 
 beneficial peace. These envoys persevered in 
 their work under almost unparalleled difficulties 
 until it was frustrated, like the Peace Congress 
 and other salutary plans, by the change in the 
 headship of the State Department at home. 
 
 Still another disturbing element was added by 
 the desperate efforts of certain American and 
 other speculators to force the recognition of the 
 enormous demands upon Peru, known as the 
 Cochet and Landreau claims, for the discovery of 
 the commercial value of the guano and nitrate
 
 168 LIFE OF JAMKS G. BI.AIM.. 
 
 deposits in that country, extending in amount to 
 hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Blaine, like 
 Mr. Evarts before him, gave these claims simply 
 the formal consideration to which they were enti- 
 tled, and directed them to be examined by the 
 proper officers, but their attorney, a Mr. Shipherd, 
 seized upon this as a full endorsement of their 
 validity, and commenced an extraordinary and 
 voluminous correspondence with the Department 
 of State, and still more improperly with Minister 
 Hurlbut, in which he assumed that the United 
 States government and its officers were in partner- 
 ship with him in a tremendous speculation, and 
 that all were to profit by it financially. Mr. Blaine 
 telegraphed peremptorily to Mr. Hurlbut to give 
 no countenance to the scheme, and the latter for- 
 warded to the Department all the letters with 
 which he had been bombarded. Upon examining 
 them, Mr. Blaine wrote to the visionary lawyer in 
 New York in very unmistakeable language, 
 informing him that he was disbarred from practice 
 before the State Department, and that the only 
 reason he was not prosecuted for attempted 
 bribery was the probability that he was not fully 
 accountable for his language and actions. 
 
 Shipherd, in his rage, flew to Congress for that 
 ready means of revenge an "investigation," and 
 after accusing Mr. Blaine of "neglecting American 
 interests abroad " changed the charge to one of 
 the same offense which he had attempted to com-
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. 169 
 
 mit official corruption. A young Democratic 
 member from New York, saw a chance to achieve 
 notoriety, at least, by assailing Mr. Elaine, so that 
 for a fourth or fifth time the latter encountered 
 his old friend, a bitterly partisan " smelling com- 
 mittee," as they are expressively called. His two 
 chief witnesses were dead, Mr. Kilpatrick and 
 Mr. Hurlbut. The archives of the State Depart 
 ment, with a mass of obscure and unexplained 
 papers, were flung open against him with a 
 surprising disregard of the most ordinary dip- 
 lomatic reserve, and he was only a private citizen 
 contending against those in power ; but again his 
 vindication was triumphant and complete. The 
 committee dropped its futile labors in disgust. 
 Yet to this day the lies are industriously repeated 
 that Mr. Elaine, as Secretary of State, " adopted a 
 blustering tone toward England ;" " tried to 
 involve the country in war," and "pressed a 
 guano claim against Peru," when a mere reading 
 of the published documents of his term would 
 show the exact contrary in every particular. If 
 necessary, reference might be made in this con- 
 nection 'to the repeated instances in his official 
 letters where he calls attention to the undefended 
 and unwarlike posture of this country, and 
 its aversion to war. Thus in his circular of 
 June 24, 1 88 1, he says to all our representatives 
 abroad : 
 
 "The policy of the United States is one of peace
 
 i;O LIKE OF JA.MI.S G. IU.AINF,. 
 
 and friendly intercourse with every o-overnment 
 and people. This disposition is frankly avowed, 
 and is, moreover, abundantly shown in the fact 
 that our armaments by land and sea are kept 
 within such limits as to afford no ground for dis- 
 trust or suspicion of menace to other nations. 
 The guarantee entered into by this government 
 in 1846 was manifestly in the interest of peace, 
 and the necessity imposed by circumstances upon 
 the United States of America to watch over a 
 highway between its two coasts was so impera- 
 tive that the resultant guarantee was the simplest 
 justice to the chief interests concerned. Any 
 attempt to supersede that guarantee by an agree- 
 ment between European powers, which maintain 
 vast armies, and patrol the sea with immense 
 fleets, and whose interest in the canal and its 
 operation can never be so vital and supreme as 
 ours, would partake of the nature of an alliance 
 against the United States, and would be regarded 
 by this government as an indication of unfriendly 
 feeling. It would be but an inadequate response 
 to the good will we bear them, and to our cheerful 
 and constant recognition of their own rights 
 of domestic policy, as well as those resulting 
 from proximity or springing from neighborly 
 interest." 
 
 And, in the ensuing letter, although he says : 
 "The military power of the United States, as 
 shown by the recent civil war, is without limit,
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE. I 71 
 
 and, in any conflict on the American continent, 
 altogether irresistible," he is quick to add that 
 the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, by excluding land 
 forces, surrenders the inter-oceanic canal " to the 
 guardianship and control of the British navy." 
 
 Notwithstanding his remarkable command of 
 legal questions, which enabled him so efficiently 
 to fill the highest place in the national cabinet, 
 yet Mr. Elaine is not a lawyer. Plain people who 
 remember the superabundance of lawyers in 
 public life will not be apt to regret this fact. 
 He studied for the profession two years, but did 
 not enter upon its practice. This was never made 
 a reproach to him until he entered the Senate and 
 encountered the many legal luminaries there. 
 They seemed to think that he was ipso facto, as 
 they would say, disbarred from discussing any 
 legal point with them, and tried to dismiss his 
 arguments with the sneer " if the Senator were a 
 lawyer but he is not," and so on. They soon 
 found that the ex-journalist and schoolmaster had 
 a firm hold on the very essence of the law, sound 
 common sense, and this, with his accurate knowl- 
 edge of facts often made havoc of their easy con- 
 fidence in their professional acquirements. Finally, 
 in the great debate on the distribution of the 
 Geneva award, Mr. Elaine encountered the late 
 Matthew Hale Carpenter, and the other giants of 
 legal lore in the Senate, and fairly vanquished 
 them all in a stand-up fight upon their own ground
 
 172 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 and with their own weapons. After this there 
 was no attempt to designate him as a layman or 
 an ignoramus and he was heard as respectfully 
 and attentively as any lawyer among them. 
 
 Mr. Elaine could have become a notable jurist 
 and advocate, and from his quick, impartial rulings 
 as Speaker it is easy to see that he would have 
 been eminent as a judge if his tastes had led him 
 in that direction. All his powers found full scope, 
 however, in the various spheres to which he was 
 called, and in none more so than when Secretary 
 of State under the trying ordeals through which 
 he then passed. As Chief Magistrate of the 
 nation, he would be altogether at home.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MR. ELAINE'S HOMES. 
 
 THERE is a natural curiosity to know about the 
 houses and homes of eminent men, for the home 
 is generally the outgrowth of the tastes, character 
 and disposition of the individual, and speaks 
 of him almost as unmistakably as the sea- 
 shell speaks of the creature around which it 
 grew. 
 
 In the city of Washington during over twenty 
 years' service there, Mr. Elaine has most of the 
 time lived in the manner sanctioned by- the 
 example of St. Paul, in Rome ; but about five 
 years ago, feeling able to indulge his tastes in that 
 direction, he determined upon the erection of a 
 dwelling which should suit his own ideas. With 
 his usual prudence he chose a lot on the extreme 
 verge of the West End, which did credit to his 
 judgment as an investor. It was the former site 
 of a brickyard, and forlorn-looking to the last 
 degree, but Mr. Elaine saw that it was on high 
 ground, that it commanded a fine prospect in 
 every direction, that it fronted on what is now 
 called Dupont Circle, which will soon be one of 
 the finest parks in the city, and that it had a small 
 " 173
 
 174 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAI.M-:. 
 
 reservation in front giving somewhat the effect of 
 large private grounds. The fashionable quarter 
 was also extending in that direction, a process 
 likely to be hastened by the removal thither of one 
 in Mr. Elaine's station. 
 
 The converging of P street and Massachusetts 
 avenue toward the Circle, made the lota truncated 
 angle, and on this the house is erected, open to 
 the.sun and air on all sides. It is familiar to those 
 who have visited Washington, being pointed out 
 as one of the prominent landmarks, not on account 
 of its intrinsic costliness, in which it is surpassed 
 by others in the neighborhood, but on account of 
 its well-chosen site, the good taste displayed and, 
 in snort, because it is Mr. Elaine's. 
 
 The materials are modest brick and brown 
 stone, combined so as to produce a rich and 
 harmonious effect. Having a large family and a 
 dislike for anything like crowding, Mr. Elaine 
 made it probably the most spacious private resi- 
 dence in the District, unless the legation building 
 supplied by the British Government to its repre- 
 sentative can be included under that head. It 
 also appears that he likes plenty of light, for the 
 number of wide window openings, filled only with 
 broad sheets of plate glass, sixty-four in all, 
 it is stated, attracted some wonderment at the 
 time. 
 
 On the eastern, or Twentieth street front, is the 
 main entrance, up a double flight of stone steps
 
 HON. JAMES G. ELAINE'S RESIDENCE, WASHINGTON, D. C.
 
 MR. ELAINE S HOMES. 177 
 
 with polished brass railings. On the North side 
 is an ample porte cochere, above which is a large 
 stained glass window, lighting the staircase 
 within. On the west front is a wide piazza, 
 commanding the gorgeous sunsets known to this 
 latitude. 
 
 The main hall might be called baronial in its 
 dimensions. It has panelings and ceilings of oak, 
 the latter supported on polished oak columns with 
 richly-carved capitals. The stairs are massively 
 built in oak, decorated with carvings, and the 
 whole is set off by the great fire-place which fronts 
 the visitor as he enters, and gives a home-like 
 glow to the scene. 
 
 To the right is a small reception-room, and to the 
 left the large parlors and drawing-room. In the rear 
 is the library, opening on the piazza before men- 
 tioned. It is finished in mahogany, and the 
 shelves are filled with books in handsome bind- 
 ings, the treasured companions of Mr. Elaine's 
 leisure and the instruments of his studies and lit- 
 erary toil. 
 
 On the other side of the hall is the dining- 
 room, also finished in mahogany. All these 
 apartments are appropriately but not extrava- 
 gantly furnished, in -a manner bespeaking rather 
 quiet good taste than love of display. 
 
 To this house Mr. Elaine removed with his 
 family from his Fifteenth-street house, near 
 McPherson square, which he had occupied during
 
 i;8 LIFE OF JAMES G. HI.A1NK. 
 
 the Speakership. It did not give him the satisfac- 
 tion he had expected. His retirement from pub- 
 lic life after the death of Garfield, and his absorp- 
 tion in the researches necessary for writing 
 "Twenty Years of Congress," made the big house 
 an unnecessary care and burden. The only fes- 
 tivity which took place in it during his occupancy- 
 was the marriage of his eldest daughter to Major 
 Coppinger of the regular Army, an event which 
 still further diminished his household, one son 
 being engaged in business in the West, while two 
 children were at school. 
 
 All things considered, Mr. Elaine gave up with- 
 out much regret his " house beautiful," which 
 required a large staff of servants and constant 
 supervision, and returned to the condition of tenant 
 in a brown-stone front on Lafayette square, a 
 quiet, but aristocratic nook, just south of the 
 Decatur mansion, and within a stone's throw of 
 Mr. Corcoran's, the venerable George Bancroft's, 
 the White House, and other notable structures. 
 
 His practical wisdom was shown in the ease 
 with which he secured for the house he had built 
 a very remunerative rental from a Chicago mil- 
 lionaire, with ample means and inclination for the 
 social entertaining to which it is so well adapted. 
 
 Yet it is not in any of the four or five houses 
 he has occupied in Washington, that Mr. Elaine 
 has ever felt so truly at home as in the big, ramb- 
 ling, yet not unsightly structure at Augusta,
 
 MR. ELAINE'S HOMES. 181 
 
 Maine, which has been his for about thirty years, 
 and which he has improved, modified and added 
 to just as his circumstances permitted or required. 
 It stands almost alone in one of the large city 
 blocks of Augusta, across the street from the old 
 State House, with a wide lawn at the side, shaded 
 by noble old trees, and surrounded by the flower 
 and vegetable gardens, stables and outhouses. 
 
 The original house is plain and square in the 
 New England style, divided by the hallway in the 
 middle. Back of this on one side is an addition 
 containing Mr. Elaine's office, which can be seen 
 at a glance on entering, to be a work-room, so 
 full is it of books, documents, and conveniences 
 for rapid writing and easy reference. Among the 
 ornaments is the ivory gavel which he wielded so 
 admirably for six years as Speaker, now swung 
 on silken ribbons in honorable repose. A bust 
 of Abraham Lincoln surmounts one of the book- 
 cases, and busts and portraits of other noted 
 friends are placed about. In the other direction, 
 another annex, almost if not quite as large as the 
 original structure, has grown up ; another air of the 
 whole is that of ample space as well as cosiness. 
 So indeed it proves, for the house is comfortable 
 both winter and summer, and furnished with every 
 device which ingenuity can suggest. His towns- 
 people are always glad to have their distinguished 
 citizen among them, and he is always glad to be 
 there.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SEEN BY ENGLISH EYES. 
 
 In the London World of July i3th, 1881, Mr. 
 Elaine is described by an English journalist. The 
 article is one of a series on " Celebrities at 
 Home." It describes the home Mr. Elaine then 
 occupied, and gives the features of an interview 
 with him there, he then being Secretary of State. 
 The article, omitting certain portions merely bio- 
 graphical, is here given : 
 
 " In one of a group of four tall houses, built of 
 brown stone and red brick, situated in Fifteenth 
 Street, Washington, and bearing the number 821, 
 dwells the American Secretary of State. With 
 the assurance of meeting with the kindest wel- 
 come from a statesman universally known for his 
 hospitality and his amiability, and of being enter- 
 tained with his charming conversation for a few 
 minutes, if the pressing morning duties of the 
 Premier will at all permit it, we stroll along the 
 quiet street, and, arriving at the neat doorstep, 
 pull the bell at Mr, Elaine's. Our cards are taken 
 by a young negress, who, in English undefiled by 
 182
 
 SEEN BY ENGLISH EYES. 183 
 
 the slave's jargon of the Southern plantation, 
 makes the usual cautious remark that she does 
 not know if Mr. Blaine is at home. Four large 
 rooms constitute the drawing-room suite, the 
 ground floor, at Mr. Elaine's. A bow-window on 
 the street adds to the size of the rooms, and 
 affords further scope for the loving ornamenta- 
 tion with which each of these apartments is 
 endowed. There are many valuable objects here ; 
 much rare china on the walls and in cabinets ; fine 
 pictures ; some good statuary ; but the greatest 
 charm of the place is its home-like spirit, which 
 enters the heart of the visitor, and tells him that 
 the Premier and his family specially inhabit these 
 rooms, and keep no corner of their house sacred 
 to the cold perfunctory ceremony of merely receiv- 
 ing visitors. 
 
 " Mr. Secretary Elaine's house is incontestably 
 the most popular in Washington. On Wednes- 
 day afternoons the days in Washington when, 
 during the Session of Congress, the wives of 
 Cabinet Ministers and those of foreign Ambassa- 
 dors receive there is no house in the American 
 capital so crowded. Whatever the weather, how- 
 ever thin the attendance in other drawing rooms, 
 there is always a throng at Mr. Elaine's. Nor is 
 this due to the importance of his present position 
 as Secretary of State. It was the same when he 
 was in Congress, whether as a member or Speaker 
 of the House ; it was the same when he was in
 
 184 LIFE OF JAMKS G, Bl.AINE. 
 
 the Senate ; it would be the same if Mr. Elaine 
 were not in politics. 
 
 " People go there because they like Mr. Blaine 
 and all his family, which consists of his intellectual 
 'and ladylike wife a kinswoman of brilliant repu- 
 tation in American letters, who uses the nom dc 
 plume of ' Gail Hamilton ; ' and six fine and 
 promising children. Never since the days of the 
 silver-voiced Henry Clay, of Kentucky, has there 
 been a man in the United States whose personal 
 magnetism has been acknowledged to be so potent 
 as that of Mr. Blaine. The power which Mr. 
 Blaine exercises over men, the unfailing success 
 he enjoys in winning their affection, has been var- 
 iously attributed to his epigrammatic speech, his 
 delightful jocularity, to his earnest face and his 
 splendid physique. But there is a more simple 
 explanation. 
 
 ''Mr. Elaine's universal popularity is directly 
 derived from the sweet and unaffected nature of 
 the man, and from the unchanging goodness of 
 his big warm heart. To be a great statesman, and 
 yet a kind, generous, and sympathizing friend to 
 uncountable scores of little people whose acquaint- 
 ance he has made during the last twenty or thirty 
 years of his life ; to maintain a demeanor of per- 
 fect dignity at all times, and yet to know how to 
 unbend to each visitor in just the degree neces- 
 sary to make the latter feel that of all ' good fel- 
 lows ' in the world, ' Blaine of Maine ' is the
 
 SEEN BY ENGLISH EYES. 185 
 
 best, demands intellectual talents and moral quali- 
 ties of the highest order. These talents and these 
 qualities are well known to be the attributes of 
 Mr. Elaine ; and they are not denied him even by 
 those whose interests in the political arena are 
 arrayed against his own. 
 
 "In the examination of the drawing-rooms at 
 Mr. Elaine's we find, among other valuable pos- 
 sessions, one very interesting picture a large 
 canvas by Sir Peter Lely, representing Charles 
 II. and his Court. It is signed, with the date 1658. 
 It was painted by Sir Peter for Lord Baltimore, 
 and was bought by Mr. Elaine for a sum of com- 
 parative unimportance at the sale of the Calvert 
 estate, Riverdale, Maryland, a few years ago. 
 There is not an art-gallery in Europe, public or 
 private, which would not be enriched by this large 
 historical picture, full of portraits, and executed 
 in Lely's most delicate and yet most animated 
 style. 
 
 " Near at hand, on a rich pedestal, stands a fine 
 life-size bust of Mr. Elaine, as good a likeness of 
 the statesman as could perhaps be obtained in his 
 form of a man, the charm of whose features lies 
 principally in their nobility and ever-changing play. 
 Portraits of men of letters abound here. Dickens, 
 Thackeray, Disraeli, Washington Irving, Haw- 
 thorne, and many others gaze down from the walls, 
 principally in the last of the suite of drawing- 
 rooms the one in which the Premier sits of a
 
 1 86 I.IKE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 morning before going to the Department of State, 
 examining such letters as imperatively demand his 
 attention at home. Routine correspondence is 
 carried on by secretaries in a vast room at the top 
 of the house, and is an enormous task. 
 
 "Listen! A deep mellow voice is warmly cry- 
 ing out, ' Now, is there anything more annoying 
 than to be kept waiting ? ' To which we reply, 
 with truth, ' It is not annoying with the prospect 
 in view of seeing you.' Elaine of Maine acknowl- 
 edges the compliment by a hearty grasp from both 
 his extended hands. It is impossible to exagger- 
 ate the charm of his manner, because with his own 
 great brilliancy he has a sort of delightful and 
 modest deference to the opinion of his listener, as 
 though to say, 'Am I right? Does your judg- 
 ment approve of this ? ' which, it is needles to 
 say, is most 'taking' with every auditor. And 
 there is nothing false here. It is the natural 
 idiosyncrasy of a frank and impulsive man, with 
 a very warm heart, kindly instincts, and generous 
 nature. In stature Mr. Elaine is above the 
 medium height, and is of strong and compactly- 
 built frame. His head is large, his hair gray and 
 abundant ; his face is engaging in expression, 
 large in feature, and lighted by a pair of brilliant 
 dark-brown eyes. His movements are alert and 
 vigorous, save when he is in the inquistorial tor- 
 tures of an inherited enemy the gout. ' I suffer 
 vicariously from the gout,' he explains, with a
 
 SEEN BY ENGLISH EYES. 187 
 
 rueful grimace. ' I never earned the gout. I 
 never drank a glass of spirits in my life. Yet I 
 must endure the agonies of the gout, because my 
 jolly old British ancestors denied themselves noth- 
 ing.' These ancestors were of that excellent 
 mingling known as the Scotch-Irish." 
 
 This picture, added to that describing his new 
 house in Washington and his old home in Augusta, 
 will show the surroundings amid which Mr. Elaine 
 dwells.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 
 
 To a degree seldom equalled, Mr. Elaine pos- 
 sesses the ability to look into the most obscure 
 subjects and to penetrate the most effective dis- 
 guises, so as to see clearly all that lies beneath. 
 Rare indeed would be the measure or the man 
 which could contain or favor a latent fraud and 
 yet escape his searching scrutiny and his unspar- 
 ing exposures. This capacity is not that micro- 
 scopic ability which even small men possess in 
 some instances, enabling them to discover every 
 mote in a brother's eye and every unsavory fly in 
 the pot of fragrant ointment. It is telescopic 
 rather ; looking beyond the conspicuous planets 
 and stars, and resolving into absolute distinctness 
 the cloudlike, mysterious whiteness of the celestial 
 nebulae. 
 
 In April, 1879, the Democratic rnembers pushed 
 forward what seemed to be an unimportant and 
 unobjectionable proposal to strike eight words 
 from an existing section of the laws regulating 
 the army of the United States. But behind this 
 unpretentious proposal, there was a world of 
 import unseen by most men. To uncover this, 
 
 1 88
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 189 
 
 Mr. Elaine addressed the Senate. He said : " Mr. 
 PRESIDENT : The existing section of the Revised 
 Statutes numbered 2002 reads thus : 
 
 " ' No military or naval officer, or other persons engaged 
 in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States, 
 shall order, bring, keep or have under his authority or 
 control, any troops or armed men at the place where any 
 general or special election is held in any State, unless it 
 be necessary to repel the armed enemies of the United 
 States, or to keep the peace at the polls.' 
 
 "The object of the proposed section, which has 
 just been read at the Clerk's desk, is to get rid of 
 the eight closing words, namely, "or to keep the 
 peace at the polls," and therefore the mode of 
 legislation proposed in the Army bill now before the 
 Senate is an unusual mode ; it is an extraordinary 
 mode. If you want to take off a single sentence 
 at the end of a section in the Revised Statutes, 
 the ordinary way is to strike off those words, but 
 the mode chosen in this bill is to repeat and 
 re-enact the whole section leaving those few words 
 out. While I do not wish to be needlessly suspi- 
 cious on a small point, I am quite persuaded that 
 this did not happen by accident, but that it came 
 by design. If I may so speak, it came of cunning, 
 the intent being to create the impression that 
 whereas the Republicans in the administration of 
 the General Government had been using troops, 
 right and left, hither and thither, in every direc- 
 tion, as soon as the Democrats got power they
 
 190 MIT. >r JAMF.S c;. ELAINE. 
 
 enacted this section. I can imagine Democratic 
 candidates for Congress, all over the country, 
 reading this section to gaping and listening audi- 
 ences as one of the first offsprings of Democratic 
 reform, whereas every word of it, every syllable 
 of it, from its first to its last, is the enactment of 
 a Republican Congress. 
 
 " I repeat that this unusual form presents a 
 dishonest issue, whether so intended or not. It 
 presents the issue that as soon as the Democrats 
 got possession of the Federal Government they 
 proceeded to enact the clause which is thus 
 expressed. The law was passed by a Republican 
 Congress in 1865. There were forty-six Senators 
 sitting in this Chamber at the time, of whom only 
 ten, or at most eleven, were Democrats. The 
 House of Representatives was overwhelmingly 
 Republican. We were in the midst of a war. 
 The Republican administration had a million or 
 possibly twelve hundred thousand bayonets at its 
 command. Thus circumstanced and thus sur- 
 rounded, with the amplest possible power to 
 interfere with elections had they so designed, with 
 soldiers in every hamlet and county in the United 
 States, the Republican party themselves placed 
 that provision on the statute-book, and Abraham 
 Lincoln, their President, signed it. 
 
 " I beg you to observe, Mr. President, that this 
 is the first instance in the legislation of the United 
 States in which any restrictive clause whatever
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 
 
 was put upon the statute-book in regard to the 
 use of troops at the polls. The Republican party 
 did it with the Senate and the House in their 
 control. Abraham Lincoln signed it when he was 
 Commander-in-Chief of an army larger than ever 
 Napoleon Bonaparte had at his command. So 
 much by way of correcting an ingenious and 
 studied attempt at misrepresentation. 
 
 "The alleged object is to strike out the few 
 words that authorize the use of troops to keep 
 peace at the polls. This country has been 
 alarmed, I rather think, indeed, amused, at the great 
 effort made to create a widespread impression 
 that the Republican party relies for its popular 
 strength upon the use of the bayonet. This 
 Democratic Congress has attempted to give a bad 
 name to this country throughout the civilized 
 world, and to give it on a false issue. They have 
 raised an issue that has no foundation in fact 
 that is false in whole and detail, false in the charge, 
 false in all the specifications. That impression 
 sought to be created, as I say, not only through- 
 out the North American continent, but in Europe 
 to-day, is that elections are attempted in this 
 country to be controlled by the bayonet. 
 
 " I denounce it here as a false issue. I am not 
 at liberty to say that any gentleman making the 
 issue knows it to be false ; I hope he does not ; 
 but I am going to prove to him that it is false, and 
 there is not a solitary inch of solid earth on which
 
 LIFE OF JAMKS (.. Hl.AIM. 
 
 to rest the foot of any man that makes that 
 
 issue." 
 
 Mr. Elaine then gave the location of all the 
 armed forces of the Union in a most entertaining 
 and mirth-provoking manner. "I believe," said 
 he, " the .Senator from Delaware is alarmed, 
 greatly alarmed, about the over-riding of the 
 popular ballot by troops of the United States ! In 
 Delaware there is not a single armed man, not 
 one. The United States has not even one soldier 
 in the State. 
 
 " The honorable Senator from West Virginia 
 [Mr. HEREFORD] on Friday last lashed himself 
 into a passion, or at least into a perspiration, over 
 the wrongs of his State, trodden down by the 
 iron heel of military despotism. There is not a 
 solitary man of the United States uniformed on 
 the soil of West Virginia, and there has not been 
 for years. 
 
 "In Maryland. I do not know whether my 
 esteemed friend from Maryland [Mr. W T HYTE] has 
 been greatly alarmed or not ; but at Fort 
 McHenry, guarding the entrance to the beautiful 
 harbor of his beautiful city, there are one hundred 
 and ninety two artillerymen located. 
 
 "In Virginia there is a school of practice at 
 Fortress Monroe. My honorable friend who has 
 charge of this bill [Mr. WITHERS] knows very 
 well, and if he does not I will tell him, that outside 
 of that school of practice at Fortress Monroe,
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 193 
 
 which has two hundred and eighty-two men in it, 
 there is not a Federal soldier on the soil of 
 Virginia not one. 
 
 " North Carolina. Are the Senators from that 
 State alarmed at the immediate and terrible pros- 
 pect of being overrun by the Army of the United 
 States ? On the whole soil of North Carolina 
 there are but thirty soldiers guarding a fort at the 
 mouth of Cape Fear River just thirty. 
 
 " South Carolina. I do not see a Senator on 
 the floor from that State. There are one hundred 
 and twenty artillerymen guarding the approaches 
 to Charleston Harbor, and not another soldier on 
 her soil. 
 
 " Georgia. Does my gallant friend from 
 Georgia [Mr. GORDON] who knows better than I 
 the force and strength of military organization, 
 the senior Senator, 'and the junior also are both 
 or either of those Senators alarmed at the 
 presence of twenty-nine soldiers in Georgia? 
 There are just twenty-nine there. 
 
 " Tennessee. Is the honorable Senator from 
 Tennessee [Mr. BAILEY] alarmed at the progress 
 of military despotism in -his State ? There is not 
 a single Federal soldier on the soil of Tennessee, 
 not one. 
 
 " Kentucky. I see both the honorable Sena- 
 tors from Kentucky here. They have equal 
 cause with Tennessee to be alarmed, for there 
 is not a Federal soldier in Kentucky not one 1
 
 194 I-Il-'I'- <"' JAMI-S C. 1M.AIXK. 
 
 " Missouri. Not one. 
 
 "Arkansas. Fifty-seven in Arkansas. 
 
 "Alabama. I think my friend from Alabama 
 [Mr. MOKCAN] is greatly excited over this ques- 
 tion, and in his State there are thirty-two Federal 
 soldiers located at an arsenal of the United States. 
 
 "Mississippi. The great State of Mississippi, 
 that is in danger of being trodden under the iron 
 hoof of military power, has not a Federal soldier 
 on its soil." 
 
 Thus did the ready speaker proceed over the 
 several states, provoking merriment at each fresh 
 disclosure and exposing the absolute absurdity of 
 the issue then so grossly magnified by his oppo- 
 nents. Returning to his main work after this 
 statistical by-play, he continued : 
 
 "Mr. President, it was said, as the old maxim 
 has it, that the soothsayers of Rome could not 
 look each other in the face without smiling. There 
 are not two Democratic Senators on this floor 
 who can go into the cloak-room and look each 
 other in the face without smiling at this talk, or, 
 more appropriately, I should say, without blushing 
 the whole thing is such a prodigious and abso- 
 lute farce, such a miserably manufactured false 
 issue, such a pretense without the slightest found- 
 ation in the world, and talked about most and 
 denounced the loudest in States that have not had 
 a single Federal soldier.
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 1 97 
 
 "What, then, is the real motive underlying this 
 movement? Senators on that side, Democratic ora- 
 tors on the stump, cannot make any sensible set 
 of men at the cross-roads believe that they are 
 afraid of eleven hundred and fifty-five soldiers, 
 distributed one to each county in the South. The 
 minute you state that everybody sees the utter 
 palpable and laughable absurdity of it, and there- 
 fore we must go further and find a motive for all 
 this cry. We want to find out, to use a familiar 
 and vulgar phrase, what is "the cat under the 
 meal." It is not the troops. That is evident. 
 There are more troops, by fifty per cent., scattered 
 through the Northern States east of the Missis- 
 sippi to-day than through the Southern States east 
 of the Mississippi, and yet nobody in the North 
 speaks of it ; everybody would be laughed at for 
 speaking of it ; and therefore the issue, I take no 
 risk in stating, I make bold to declare, that this 
 issue on the troops, being a false one, being one 
 without foundation, conceals the true issue, which 
 is simply to get rid of the Federal presence at 
 Federal elections, to get rid of the civil power of 
 the United States in the election of Representa- 
 tives to the Congress of the United States. That 
 is the whole of it ; and disguise it as you may, 
 there is nothing else in it or of it." 
 
 This merciless method of exposing what Mr. 
 Elaine's judgment condemned made him an 
 antagonist not to be aroused with impunity. But
 
 . 
 
 190 I.IM-: <>i- IA.MI-S G. KI.AIM:. 
 
 he did not need to be " stirred up " for an attack. 
 His keen scent led him unerringly to the exact 
 lurking-place of evil, and when it was discovered, 
 his indomitable courage never faltered. And yet 
 those assailed the most sharply were at the same 
 time so held by Mr. Elaine's manner that they 
 never cherished ill-will. 
 
 The late Governor Kent, of Maine, summed up 
 Mr. Elaine's general "quickness," or "dash," or 
 by whatever term it may best be designated, as 
 follows : 
 
 "Almost from the day of his assuming editorial 
 charge of the Kennebec Journal, at the early age 
 of twenty-three, Mr. Elaine sprang into a position 
 of great influence in the politics and policy of 
 Maine. At twenty-five he was a leading power 
 in the councils of the Republican party, so rec- 
 ognized by Fessenden, Hamlin, the two Morrills, 
 and others, then and still prominent in the State. 
 Before he was twenty-nine he was chairman of the 
 executive committee of the Republican organization 
 in Maine a position he has held ever since, and 
 from which he has practically shaped and directed 
 every political campaign in the State always lead- 
 ing his party to brilliant victory. Had Mr. Elaine 
 been New-England born, he would probably not 
 have received such rapid advancementatsoearlyan 
 age, even with the same ability he possessed. But 
 there was a sort of Western dash about him that took 
 with us Down-Easters ; an expression of frankness,
 
 KEENNESS OF PERCEPTION. 199 
 
 candor and confidence that gave him from the 
 start a very strong and permanent hold on our 
 people, and as the foundation of all, a pure char- 
 acter and a masterly ability equal to all demands 
 made upon him." 
 
 As a reflection on Mr. Elaine's quickness it is 
 asked, disparagingly, "What great measure did 
 Mr. Blaine ever originate ? " One might go on 
 indefinitely asking what great measure did Mr. 
 Sherman or Mr. Thurman ever originate, or Mr. 
 Edmunds or Mr. Conkling or Mr. Webster or Mr. 
 Gallatin ? Such critics and such criticisms are 
 equally shallow. Great measures grow in the 
 minds of the people. Specie payment came after 
 long public discussion, and it is useless to be 
 quarrelling as to who it was that drafted the bill 
 passed in 1875. So it is with all measures of 
 great public moment. They do not spring from 
 the mind of one man sitting behind his Congress- 
 ional desk. The duty of. the statesman is to 
 shape, mould, guide, direct in a Republican gov- 
 ernment. The creative power is in the minds of 
 many, and the cause of action is necessity. The 
 great lawyer does not create his case. He 
 argues it, develops it, applies principles to it, but 
 in any case Mr. Blaine is among the first to see, 
 and the earlier to act. 
 
 To say that Mr. Blaine has been a power in 
 Congress for the past seventeen years is simply 
 to affirm current history, Though entering very
 
 2OD I.I IT! <>F JAMI'S C-. r.I.AINi:. 
 
 young, he made his mark at once. At the period 
 of darkest depressions in the war, when anxiety 
 brooded everywhere and boded everything, Mr. 
 Blaine delivered a speech on "The Ability of the 
 American People to Suppress the Rebellion," 
 which has been cited for the great attention and 
 warm commendation it received. Its value lay 
 not alone in its timeliness, for after its first wide 
 circulation it was reprinted as a campaign docu- 
 ment in the Presidential campaign of 1864. 
 
 It was the delivery of this speech, and some 
 discussions which took place shortly after, that 
 caused Thaddeus Stevens to say that " Blaine of 
 Maine has shown as great aptitude and ability 
 for the higher walks of public life as any man that 
 hail come to Congress during his period of ser- 
 vice."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " STIRRING UP STRIFE." 
 
 ON May iQth, 1879, there was a lively time in 
 the Senate on the question of National Sov- 
 ereignty versus State Sovereignty. The question 
 before the Senate was a bill making appropria- 
 tions for the legislative, executive, and judicial 
 expenses of the Government, but discussion took 
 a wide range, and abounded in cross-firing of wit 
 and repartee. Mr. Elaine had the floor, but Mr. 
 Eaton, of Connecticut, Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, 
 Mr. Butler, of South Carolina, and others, figured 
 largely in the discussions. Toward the close 
 of the discussion, Mr. Elaine, continuing his 
 frequently interrupted speech, and seeking to 
 unearth the sources of existing ill-will, said : 
 
 " I do not think the evil that has been done 
 to the Southern country by the school-books in the 
 hands of their children has been measured. 
 Many of the books put into the hands of the rising 
 generation of the South are tinctured all through 
 with prejudice and misrepresentation and with a 
 spirit of hatred. 
 
 "We are accused by our friends on the 
 opposite side of the Chamber of stirring up strife 
 
 201
 
 2O2 LITE OF JAM MS (i. J5LAINE. 
 
 and generating hatred. I do not believe it would 
 be possible to find in all the literature of the North 
 for the schools and for the young a solitary para- 
 graph intended or calculated to arouse hatred or 
 suggest unpatriotic feelings toward any portion 
 of the Union. A large portion of the South has 
 been furnished with special school-books calculated 
 for the meridian, with the facts appended to suit 
 that particular locality. It was said that for two 
 generations a large portion of the English people 
 believed that the American colonies had never 
 achieved their independence, but had been kicked 
 off as a useless appendage to the British Empire, 
 and that they were glad to be rid of us. 
 
 "There is a large number of the school children 
 in the South who are educated with radically 
 wrong notions and radically erroneous facts. I 
 saw an arithmetic that was filled with examples 
 think of putting politics into an arithmetic such 
 as this : If ten cowardly Yankees had so many 
 miles the start, and five brave Confederates were 
 following them, the first going at so many miles 
 an hour, and the others following at so many miles 
 an hour, how long before the Yankees would be 
 overtaken ? Now, think of putting that deliber- 
 ately in a school-book and having school histories 
 made up on that basis for children. I have here 
 from a gentleman who, I believe, is a man of high 
 position, an extract which is so pertinent that I 
 desire to read it. It is from an address before
 
 STIRRING UP STRIFE. 2O3 
 
 the literary societies of the Virginia University, 
 by Mr. John S. Preston, a gentleman of distinction, 
 I believe, in the State of South Carolina. I want 
 to read this merely to put it- on record to show 
 the pabulum on which the Southern mind feeds : 
 
 'The Mayflower freight, under the laws of England, was 
 heresy and crime. The Jamestown emigrant was an 
 English freeman, loyal to his country and his God, with 
 England's honor in his heart and English piety in his 
 soul, and carrying in his right hand the charters, usages, 
 and the laws which were achieving the regenerations of 
 England. * * * These two peoples spoke the same 
 language, and nominally read the same Bible ; but like 
 the offspring of the Syrian princes, they were two manner 
 of people, and they could not coalesce or commune. 
 Their feud began beyond the broad Atlantic, and has 
 never ceased on its Western shores. Not space, or time, 
 or the convenience of any human law, or the power of 
 any human arm, can reconcile institutions for the turbu- 
 lent fanatic of Plymouth Rock and the God-fearing 
 Christian of Jamestown. You may assign them to the 
 closest territorial proximity, with all the forms, modes, 
 and shows of civilization ; but you can never cement 
 them into the bonds of brotherhood. Great nature, in 
 her supremest law, forbids it. Territorial localization 
 drove them to a hollow and unnatural armistice in effect- 
 ing their segregation from England the one for the lucre 
 of traffic, the other to obtain a more perfect law of liberty ; 
 the one to destroy foreign tea, the other to drive out for- 
 eign tyrants ; the one to offer thanksgiving for the fruit 
 of the earth, the other to celebrate the gift of grace by the 
 birth of Christ.'
 
 2O4 LI IT. 'F JAMKS C. ULAIM. 
 
 "I know the piety of New England has some- 
 times been criticised, hut 1 never before heard 
 of such fervent zeal among the Jamestown 
 emigrants." 
 
 MR. BUTLER. What is the date of that ? 
 
 MR. BLAINE. I think in 1875 or 1876. Does 
 the Senator from South Carolina think that is 
 enough to establish a statute of limitations ? 
 
 MR. BUTLER. I say nothing about it. 
 
 MR. MORGAN. May I be allowed a word ? 
 
 MR. BLAINE. Certainly. 
 
 MR. MORGAN. I have not seen all these arith- 
 metics, or school histories either, to which the 
 Senator from Maine refers. I doubt very much 
 their existence, unless the Senator has them 
 present to prove the fact. I refer now to those 
 published since the war. 
 
 MR. BLAINE. I refer only to those published 
 since the war. 
 
 MR. MORGAN. There is some other literature, 
 however, in the Southern States which I will call 
 the attention of the Senator from Maine to, that 
 perhaps would indicate that there was some 
 necessity for counter proceedings for the purpose 
 of infusing the minds 6f the people down there 
 with correct ideas on political questions. I hold 
 in my hand the " minutes of the twelfth session of 
 the Alabama Conference of the African Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, held at Mobile, Alabama, in 
 Emmanuel church, December 18, 19, 20, 21, and
 
 STIRRING UP STRIFE. 205 
 
 22, 1878, Right Reverend Bishop J. P. Campbell, 
 D. D., LL. D., president." He is a colored man, 
 and a very learned man I am told. On page 13 
 of the minutes of that conference I find the follow- 
 ing entry : 
 
 " Committee on letters and petitions : 
 
 " First. Complaint against Z. Taylor, of Birmingham, 
 for voting Democratic ticket, signed by United States 
 marshal." 
 
 The decision was : 
 
 
 
 " His case out of jurisdiction of this conference; belongs 
 to North Alabama conference." [Laughter.] . 
 
 I have no comment to make upon that. 
 
 MR. ELAINE. That begins to show me that the 
 claim for piety in the South that Mr. Preston 
 makes has some foundation. [ Laughter.] If 
 they begin to bring up men before church con- 
 ferences for voting the Democratic, State-rights, 
 secession ticket, I think it is good evidence of 
 reform. [ Laughter.] It gives some ground of 
 patriotic hope for the future. 
 
 " I have here also a speech delivered by the 
 honorable Senator from South Carolina, the junior 
 Senator from that State [ MR. HAMPTON], before 
 the Historical Society, I believe, of the South, and 
 this has arrested my attention. Of course, I read 
 it in no spirit of captious or personal criticism, but 
 as a great public document ; and if what I read 
 means anything, it means a great deal :
 
 206 LIH-: <>i' JAMKS <.. IU.AINE. 
 
 'These are the lessons our children should learn from 
 their mothers. Nor are these the only ones which should 
 be inculcated, for the pages of history furnish many 
 which should not be overlooked. These teach, in the 
 clearest and most emphatic manner, that there is always 
 hope for a people who cherish the spirit of freedom, who 
 will not tamely give up their rights, and who, amid all 
 the changes of time, the trials of adversity, remain stead- 
 fast to their convictions that liberty is their birthright. 
 ******** 
 
 ' When Napoleon in that wonderful campaign of Jena, 
 struck down in a few weeks the whole military strength 
 of Prussia, destroyed that army with which the great 
 Frederick had held at bay the combined forces of Europe, 
 and crushed out, apparently forever, the liberties, seem- 
 ingly the very existence of that great state, but one hope 
 of disenthrallment and regeneration was left her the 
 unconquered and unconquerable patriotism of her sons. 
 As far as human foresight could penetrate the future, this 
 hope appeared but a vain and delusive one ; yet only a 
 few years passed before her troops turned the scale of 
 victory of Waterloo, and the treaty of Paris atoned in 
 part for the mortification of that of Tilsit 
 ** * * * * ** 
 
 ' She educated her children by a system which made 
 them good citizens in peace and formidable soldiers in 
 war; she kindled and kept alive the sacred fire of patriot- 
 ism ; she woke the slumbering spirit of the Fatherland ; 
 and what has been the result of this self-devotion of a 
 whole people for half a century? Single-handed she 
 has just met her old antagonist. The shame of her de- 
 feats of yore has been wiped out by glorious victories; 
 the contributions extorted from her have been more than
 
 STIRRING UP STRIFE. 2C>7 
 
 repaid ; her insults have been avenged, and her victorious 
 eagles, sweeping over the broken lilies of her enemy, 
 vaved in triumph from the walls of conquered Paris, 
 kvhile she dictated peace to prostrate and humbled France. 
 Is not the moral to be drawn from this noble dedication 
 of a people to the interests and honor of their country 
 ivorth rememberiug. 
 
 ' Hungary in her recent struggle to throw off the yoke 
 of Austria was crushed to the earth, and yet to-day the 
 Hungarians, as citizens of Austria, exercise a controlling 
 power in that great empire.' 
 
 "I say, if that means anything, it means a great 
 deal. If that means anything at all, it means the 
 education of the rising generation of the South 
 for another conflict; it means that or else it is 
 vapid and idle rhetoric. And I say again, Mr. 
 President, that throughout the length and breadth 
 of the South the one evil omen of to-day is the 
 literature that is given to the children and the 
 intellectual food that is offered to all the young and 
 rising men in the institutions of learning, in their 
 academies, their colleges, their universities 
 
 Mr. HAMPTON. May I ask the Senator from 
 Maine to yield to me for a moment? 
 
 Mr. ELAINE. With great pleasure. 
 
 Mr. HAMPTON. The words which he has done 
 me the honor to quote do not mean what he 
 is pleased to call another rebellion. If it is " idle 
 and vapid rhetoric," I admit that it is not such 
 rhetoric as he pours out ; but if it is vapid and idle
 
 2O8 I. UK OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 rhetoric I have only to plead guilty to the charge 
 when made by him. 
 
 Mr. IJi. A INK. If the Senator speaks of a 
 revival of a power that was once conquered, to be 
 victorious at another Waterloo, with a crowning 
 peace in Paris to atone for the humiliation oi 
 Tilsit if that means anything by analogy at all, it 
 has a deep and far-reaching significance. 
 
 Mr. HAMFFON. 
 
 " Peace hath her victories 
 No less renowned than war. " 
 
 Mr. ELAINE. But peace does not celebrate 
 her victories on the plains of Waterloo. That is 
 where war celebrates its triumphs. Peace does 
 not celebrate itself by great armed hosts that are 
 employed and marshaled for avenging insult, to 
 which the honorable Senator called attention. 
 That is not the language of peace, and without 
 the slightest intention to say anything discourteous, 
 I say it is mere rhetoric I leave out the adjective 
 it is mere rhetoric, or it is a prodigious menace. 
 It is the one or the other. 
 
 "As to the pending bill, I need only to say that 
 the laws proposed to be repealed are precisely 
 the kind which Mr. Webster alluded to when he 
 addressed Mr. Calhoun ; laws that have received 
 the sanction of Congress and been for years on 
 the statute-book. They are there properly. They 
 have secured justice; they have assured fair and 
 equal elections ; they ought to be upheld ; and to
 
 STIRRING LT STRIFE. 
 
 this hour not one solitary reason has been shown 
 for their repeal, with the single exception of a 
 desire to grasp artisan power. It all moves in one 
 direction. Every step has been taken since the 
 Democratic party got into power in the House 
 and in the Senate in one direction, and that 
 direction has been to the striking down of the 
 Federal power and the exaltation of the State 
 power. This measure is but one. Others have 
 gone before it; others are to follow it. What 
 may be their fate I do not know. We on this 
 side will resist by every constitutional means, and 
 you on that side, despite the threats of the Sen- 
 ator from Connecticut, will be obliged to submit 
 
 o 
 
 in the end, and the power of this Government will 
 not be put down by a threat ; it will not be put 
 down by a combination ; it will not be put down 
 by a political party. It was not put down by a 
 rebellion. It can meet another, either in the form 
 of organized resistance in withholding supplies, or 
 in the more serious form which the language of 
 the Senator from South Carolina seemed to fore- 
 shadow." 
 
 Thus squarely did Mr. Blaine meet any and all 
 comers in the interests of opposition to the 
 national life and prosperity. His fulness of 
 information, his facility of expression, and his 
 capacity for instantaneous and telling reply,-made 
 him effective at all times. At the close of this
 
 210 LIKE OF JAMES G. BLAIM.. 
 
 particular effort, the galleries broke into prolonged 
 applause, which the President of the Senate was 
 for a time powerless to check. For the passing 
 moment it might seem that Mr. Blaine did stir up 
 strife, but his was the work of the skillful surgeon 
 who cuts to cure ; who seeks sound healing rather 
 than superficial smoothness.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WITHERING SARCASM. 
 
 IT will be remembered that in April, 1879, the 
 passing of the necessary appropriation bills was 
 refused on the decision of the Democratic caucus, 
 unless accompanied with the passage of certain 
 other bills, planned and favored by the same 
 authority. Such an effort to coerce legislation 
 could but arouse the indignation of every free 
 and fearless man, and it did thoroughly arouse 
 Mr. Elaine, and call forth his withering power of 
 denunciation and sarcasm, which weapons he 
 employs reluctantly, and never except on pressing 
 occasions. On this movement he spoke thus in 
 the Senate : 
 
 " We are told, too, rather a novel thing, that if 
 we do not take these laws, we are not to have the 
 appropriations. I believe it has been announced 
 in both branches of Congress, I suppose on the 
 authority of the Democratic caucus, that if we do 
 not take these bills as they are planned, we shall 
 not have any of the appropriations that go with 
 them. The honorable Senator from West Vir- 
 ginia [Mr. HEREFORD] told it to us on Friday ; 
 the honorable Senator from Ohio [Mr. THURMAN] 
 
 '3 211
 
 212 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 told it to us last session ; the honorable Senator 
 from Kentucky [Mr. BECK] told it to us at the 
 same time, and I am not permitted to speak 
 of the legions who told us so in the other House. 
 They say all these appropriations are to be 
 refused not merely the Army appropriation, for 
 they do not stop at that. Look, for a moment, at 
 the legislative bill that came from the Democratic 
 caucus. Here is an appropriation in it for defray- 
 ing the expenses of the Supreme Court and the 
 circuit and district courts of the United States, 
 including the District of Columbia, &c., 
 '$2,800,000 : ' ' Provided ' provided what ? 
 'That the following sections of the Revised 
 Statutes relating to elections ' (Going on to recite 
 them) ' be repealed.' 
 
 " That is, you will pass an appropriation for the 
 support of the judiciary of the United States only 
 on condition of this repeal. We often speak of 
 this government being devided between three 
 great departments, the executive, the legislative, 
 and the judicial co-ordinate, independent, equal. 
 The legislative, under the control of a Democratic 
 caucus, now steps forward and says, ' We offer to 
 the Executive this bill, and if he does not sign it, 
 we are going to starve the judiciary.' That is 
 carrying the thing a little further than I have ever 
 known. We do not merely propose to starve the 
 Executive if he will not sign the bill, but we pro- 
 pose to starve the judiciary that has had nothing
 
 WITHERING SARCASM. 213 
 
 whatever to do with the question. That has been 
 boldly avowed on this floor ; that has been boldly 
 avowed in the other House ; that has been boldly 
 avowed in Democratic papers throughout the 
 country. 
 
 "And you propose not merely to starve the 
 judiciary, but you propose that you will not appro- 
 priate a solitary dollar to take care of this Capitol. 
 The men who take care of this great amount of 
 public property are provided for in that bill. You 
 say they shall not have any pay if the President 
 will not agree to change the election laws. There 
 is the public printing that goes on for the enlight- 
 ment of the whole country and for printing the 
 public documents of every one of the depart- 
 ments. You say they shall not have a dollar for 
 public printing unless the President agrees to 
 repeal these laws. 
 
 " There is the Congressional Library that ha i 
 become the pride of the whole American peop e 
 for its magnificent growth and extent. You s iy 
 it shall not have one dollar to take care of it, 
 much less add a new book, unless the President 
 signs these bills. There is the Department of 
 State that we think throughout the history of the 
 Government has been a great pride to this country 
 for the ability with which it has conducted our 
 foreign affairs ; it is also to be starved. You say 
 we shall not have any intercourse with foreign 
 nations, not a dollar shall be appropriated there-
 
 214 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 for unless the President signs these bills. There 
 is the Light-House Board that provides for the 
 beacons and the warnings on seventeen thousand 
 miles of sea and gulf and lake coast. You say 
 those lights shall all go out and not a dollar shall 
 be appropriated for the board if the President 
 does not sign these bills. There are the mints of 
 the United States at Philadelphia, New Orleans, 
 Denver, San Francisco, coining silver and coining 
 gold not a dollar shall be appropriated for them 
 if the President does not sign these bills. There 
 is the Patent office, the patents issued which 
 embody the invention of the country not a dollar 
 for them. The Pension Bureau shall cease its 
 operations unless these bills are signed, and 
 patriotic soldiers may starve. The Agricultural 
 Bureau, the Post Office Department, every one of 
 the great executive functions of the Government 
 is threatened, taken by the throat, highwayman 
 style, collared on the highway, commanded to 
 stand and deliver in the name of the Democratic 
 congressional caucus. That is what it is ; simply 
 that. No committee of this Congress in either 
 branch has ever recommended that legislation 
 not one. Simply a Democratic caucus has done 
 it. 
 
 " Of course, this is new. We are learning some- 
 thing every day. I think you may search the 
 records, of the Federal Government in vain; it 
 will take some one much more industrious in that
 
 WITHERING SARCASM. 21$ 
 
 search than I have ever been, and much more 
 observant than I have ever been, to find any pos- 
 sible parallel or any possible suggestion in our 
 past history of any such thing. Most of the 
 Senators who sit in this chamber can remember 
 some vetoes by Presidents that shook this country 
 to its centre with excitement. The veto of the 
 national bank bill by Jackson in 1832, remembered 
 by the oldest in this Chamber ; the veto of the 
 national bank bill in 1841 by Tyler, remembered 
 by those not the oldest, shook this country with a 
 political excitement which up to that time had 
 scarcely a parallel ; and it was believed, whether 
 rightfully or wrongfully is no matter, it was 
 believed by those who advocated those financial 
 measures at the time, that they were of the very 
 last importance to the well-being and pros- 
 perity of the people of the Union. That was 
 believed by the great and shining lights of that 
 day. It was believed by that man of imperial 
 character and imperious will, the great Senator 
 from Kentucky. It was believed by Mr. Webster, 
 the greatest of New England Senators. When 
 Jackson vetoed the one or Tyler vetoed the other, 
 did you ever hear a suggestion that those bank 
 charters should be put on appropriation bills, or 
 that there should not be a dollar to run the Gov- 
 ernment until they were signed? So far from 
 it that, in 1841, when temper was at its height; 
 when the Whig party, in addition to losing their
 
 2l6 LIFE OK JAMES G. 11LAIXE. 
 
 great measure, lost it under the sting and the 
 irritation of what they believed was a desertion by 
 the President whom they had chosen ; and when 
 Mr. Clay, goaded by all these considerations, rose 
 to debate the question in the Senate, he repelled 
 the suggestion of William C. Rives, of Virginia, 
 who attempted to make upon him the point that 
 he had indulged in some threat involving the inde- 
 pendence of the Executive. Mr. Clay rose to 
 his full height and thus responded : 
 
 " ' I said nothing whatever of any obligation on the part 
 of the President to conform his judgment to the opinions 
 of the Senate and the House of Representatives, although 
 the Senator argued as if I had, and persevered in so argu- 
 ing after repeated correction. I said no such thing. I 
 know and I respect the perfect independence of each 
 department, acting within its proper sphere, of the other 
 departments.' 
 
 "The late vice-president of the confederacy 
 boasted perhaps I had better say stated that 
 for sixty out of the seventy-two years preceding 
 the outbreak of the Rebellion, from the foundation 
 of the Government, the South, though in a min- 
 ority, had, by combining with what he termed the 
 anti-centralists in the North, ruled the country ; 
 and in 1866 the same gentleman indicated in a 
 speech, I think before the Legislature of Georgia, 
 that by a return to Congress the South might 
 repeat the experiment with the same successful 
 result. I read that speech at the time ; but I little
 
 WITHERING SARCASM. 2 I 7 
 
 thought I should live to see so near a fulfillment 
 of its prediction. I see here to-day two great 
 measures emanating, as I have said, not from a 
 committee of either House, but from a Democratic 
 caucus in which the South has an overwhelming 
 majority, two-thirds in the House, and out of 
 forty-two Senators on the other side of this Cham- 
 ber professing the Democratic faith thirty are from 
 the South twenty-three, a positive and pro- 
 nounced majority, having themselves been parti- 
 cipants in the war against the Union, either in 
 military or civil station. So that as a matter of 
 fact, plainly deducible from counting your fingers, 
 the legislation of this country to-day, shaped and 
 fashioned in a Democratic caucus where the con- 
 federates of the South hold the majority, is the 
 realization of Mr. Stephens' prophecy. And very 
 appropriately the House under that control and 
 the Senate under that control, embodying thus 
 the entire legislative powers of the Government, 
 deriving its political strength from the South, 
 elected from the South, say to the President of 
 the United States, at the head of the Executive 
 Department of the Government, elected as he 
 was from the North elected by the whole people, 
 but elected as a Northern man ; elected on Repub- 
 lican principles, elected in opposition to the party 
 that controls both branches of Congress to-day 
 they naturally say, ' You shall not exercise your 
 constitutional power to veto a bill.'
 
 2l8 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 "I do not profess to know, Mr. President, least 
 of all Senators on this floor, certainly as little as 
 any Senator on this floor, do I profess to know, 
 what the President of the United States will do 
 when these bills are presented to him, as I sup- 
 pose, in due course of time, they will be. I cer- 
 tainly should never speak a solitary word of dis- 
 respect of the gentleman holding that exalted 
 position, and I hope I should not speak a word 
 unbefitting the dignity of the office of a Senator 
 of the United States. But as there has been 
 speculation here and there on both sides as to 
 what he would do, it seems to me that the dead 
 heroes of the Union would rise from their graves 
 if he should consent to be intimidated and out- 
 raged in his proper constitutional power by 
 threats like these. 
 
 "All the war measures of Abraham Lincoln are 
 to be wiped out, say leading Democrats ! The 
 Bourbons of France busied themselves, I believe, 
 after the restoration in removing every trace of 
 Napoleon's power and grandeur, even chiseling 
 the " N " from public monuments raised to per- 
 petuate his glory ; but the dead man's hand from 
 Saint Helena reached out and destroyed them in 
 their pride and in their folly. And I tell the 
 Senators on the other side of this Chamber I 
 tell the Democratic party North and South South 
 in the lead and North following, that, the slow, 
 unmoving finger of scorn, from the tomb of the
 
 WITHERING SARCASM 21 9 
 
 martyred President on the praries of Illinois, will 
 wither and destroy them. Though dead he 
 speaketh. 
 
 "When you present these bills with these 
 threats to the living President, who bore the com- 
 mission of Abraham Lincoln and served with 
 honor in the Army of the Union, which Lincoln 
 restored and preserved, I can think only of one 
 appropriate response from his lips or his pen. He 
 should say to you with all the scorn befitting his 
 station : 
 
 4 Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing ? ' '
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 IRISH-AMERICAN AND GERMAN QUESTIONS. 
 
 THE record of the Elaine family on all questions 
 relating to American citizens of Irish descent, as 
 well as the political position of Ireland and the 
 Irish at home, has been marked and unmistak- 
 able, going back as far as the Revolution and con- 
 tinuing to the present hour. The blood of James 
 G. Elaine is of the most direct Scotch-Irish, and 
 he. has all the good qualities of that impetuous, 
 earnest, affectionate, courageous and kind-hearted 
 race. The following paragraph is from a trust- 
 worthy source, and is known to be accurate by 
 the oldest citizens of Washington and Cumberland 
 Counties, in Pennsylvania : 
 
 Prominent in the list of members of the "Friendly 
 Sons of St. Patrick," for 1780, is the name of 
 Colonel Ephraim Elaine, the grandfather of the 
 "Plumed Knight." The society changed its name, 
 in 1790, to "The Hibernian Society." No one 
 could ever be a member unless of Irish birth or of 
 direct Irish descent. The only exception ever 
 made was in the case of General George Wash- 
 ington, who was an adopted member. Among 
 the distinguished men who have belonged to the 
 
 223
 
 THE IRISH-AMERICAN QUESTION. 221 
 
 society are Matthew Mease, purser of the Bon- 
 homme Richard, one of a family that afterward 
 changed its name to Butler, to inherit some prop- 
 erty in Ireland ; one member of it, Pierce Butler, 
 married Fannie Kemble, the famous actress ; 
 Thomas Read, commander of the Alliance frigate ; 
 Thomas Fitzsimmons, of the Continental Congress; 
 Robert Gray, of Gray's Ferry ; General Anthony 
 Wayne, and many others. As the portrait of 
 Marino Faliero, the traitor, is represented by a 
 tablet in the collection of portraits of the Venetian 
 Doges, so the one black sheep of the society is 
 represented in the list of members by Captain 
 Thomas Batt, whose name appears with the mar- 
 ginal note : "Expelled for disloyalty to the col- 
 onial cause." 
 
 Mr. Blaine, no longer ago than the last Presi- 
 dential election, wrote a letter of no uncertain 
 import. The newspapers of England have ade- 
 quate reason, from a selfish standpoint, for attack- 
 ing Mr. Blaine. All our commercial interests are 
 in conflict with England, and while that great 
 country is secure in the knowledge that the United 
 States will make no encroachments on its control 
 of the world's trade, there will be nothing but 
 praise from its statesmen and newspapers for the 
 administration that happens to be in power in 
 this country. But once let it be understood that 
 the United States Government intends to advance 
 its own interests and claim the supremacy that
 
 222 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 belongs to it in the great South American and 
 Eastern trade particularly then the English 
 press, inspired by the government, which is their 
 master, will contain nothing but adverse criticism 
 and abuse of us. So it is just as well that Mr. 
 Elaine is not popular in England. 
 
 The following letter was written by Mr. Elaine 
 to a very prominent and influential Irishman in 
 Eastern Maine nearly four years ago : 
 
 " AUGUSTA, Maine, Oct. 27, 1 880. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : I received your friendly letter with 
 much pleasure. Let me say, in reply, that the course of 
 yourself and other Irish voters is one of the most extraor- 
 dinary anomalies in our political history. Never, proba- 
 bly, since the execution of Robert Emmett, has the feel- 
 ing of Irishmen, the world over, been so bitter against 
 England and Englishmen as it is at this hour. And yet 
 the great mass of the Irish voters in the United States 
 will, on Tuesday next, vote precisely as Englishmen 
 would have them vote, for the interests of England. 
 
 "Having seen Ireland reduced to misery and driven to 
 despair by what they regard as the unjust policy of 
 England, the Irishmen of America use their suffrage as 
 though they were the agents and servants of the English 
 Tories. The Free-traders of England desire nothing so 
 much as the defeat of Garfield and the election of Han- 
 cock. They wish to break down the protective tariff 
 and cripple our manufacturers, and nine-tenths of the 
 Irish voters in this country respond with alacrity, ' Yes, 
 we will do your bidding, and vote to please you, even 
 though it reduce our own wages, and take the bread 
 from the mouths of our children.'
 
 THE IRISH-AMERICAN QUESTION. 223 
 
 " There are many able men and many clever writers 
 among the Irish in America, but I have never met any 
 one of them able enough or clever enough to explain this 
 anomaly on any basis of logic and good sense. 
 
 " I am glad to see, from your esteemed favor, that the 
 subject is beginning to trouble you. The more you think 
 of it the more you will be troubled, I am sure. And you 
 will be driven finally to the conclusion that the prosperity 
 of the Irish in this country depends as largely as that of 
 any other class upon the maintenance of the financial and 
 industrial policy represented by the Republican party. 
 " Very truly yours, 
 
 "JAMES G. ELAINE." 
 
 Mr. Elaine can only increase in reputation and 
 popularity by an examination of his course toward 
 his fellow citizens of Germanic blood, and their 
 kinsmen still in the Fatherland. It has been 
 marked by consistent justice, kindliness and 
 mutual regard. Thus he spoke from his heart 
 when it became his agreeable duty to extend to 
 certain distinguished Germans the hospitality of 
 the Republic on a well-remembered occasion. It 
 would be unfair to alter or curtail his own words 
 in this instance, and his letter of invitation is 
 accordingly appended. It was addressed to Mr. 
 Andrew D. White, then U. S. Minister to Ger- 
 many : 
 
 " DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 
 " Washington, July jo, 1881. 
 
 " SIR: During the darkest period of the Revolution- 
 ary War, a German soldier of character and distinction
 
 2~4 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 tendered his sword in aid of American Independence. 
 Frederick William Augustus, Baron Steuben, joined 
 Washington at Valley Forge, in the memorable and dis- 
 astrous winter of 1778. He attested the sincerity of his 
 attachment to the patriot cause by espousing it when its 
 fortunes were adverse, its prospects gloomy, and its hopes, 
 but for the intense zeal of the people, well-nigh crushed. 
 
 " The Baron Steuben was received by Washington with 
 the most cordial welcome, and immediately placed on 
 duty as inspector-general of the army. A detailed his- 
 tory of his military career in America would form an 
 epitome of the revolutionary struggle. He had served 
 in the Seven Years' War on the staff of the great Fred- 
 erick, and had acquired in the campaigns of that master 
 of military science the skill and the experience so much 
 needed by the untrained soldiers of the Continental army. 
 The drill and discipline and effective organization which, 
 under the commanding patronage of Washington, were 
 at once imparted to the American army by the zeal and 
 diligence of Steuben, transformed the volunteers and raw 
 levies into veterans, who successfully met the British 
 regulars in all. the campaigns of that prolonged struggle. 
 
 " The final surrender of the British army under Lord 
 Cornwallis occurred at Yorktown, Va., on the I9th day 
 of October, 1781. Baron Steuben bore a most conspic- 
 uous part in the arduous campaign which ended so aus- 
 piciously for the Continental army, and it fell to his lot 
 to receive the first official notification of the proposed 
 capitulation, and to bear it to the illustrious commander- 
 in-chief. 
 
 " The centennial of that great event in American his- 
 tory is to be celebrated with appropriate observances and 
 ceremonies on the approaching anniversary. I am
 
 THE GERMAN QUESTION 225 
 
 directed by the President to tender, through you, an invi- 
 tation to the representatives of Baron Steuben's family in 
 Germany, to attend the celebration as guests of the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States. You will communicate 
 the invitation through the imperial minister of foreign 
 affairs, and will express to him the very earnest desire of 
 this government that it shall be accepted. 
 
 " Those who come as the representatives of Baron Steu- 
 ben's family will be assured, in our day of peace and 
 prosperity, of as warm a welcome as was given to their 
 illustrious kinsman in the dark days of adversity and 
 war. They will be the honored guests of fifty millions 
 of Americans, a vast number of whom have German 
 blood in their veins and constitute one of the most 
 worthy and valuable elements that make up the strength 
 of the Republic. Intensely devoted, with patriotic fidelity 
 to America, they yet retain and cherish and transmit the 
 most affectionate memory of fatherland. . To these the 
 visit of Baron Steuben's relatives will have something of 
 the revival of family ties, while to all Americans, of what- 
 ever origin, the presence of German guests will afford 
 fitting opportunity of testifying their respect for that 
 great country, within whose imperial limits are included 
 so much of human grandeur atid human progress. 
 " I am, sir, &c., 
 
 " JAMES G. ELAINE." 
 
 Eight of the descendants of Baron Steuben, 
 including the present head of the family, with the 
 consent and approval of their Government, 
 accepted this invitation in the same spirit in which 
 it was extended. They were so impressed with 
 the treatment they received, not only from the
 
 226 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 American Government and people generally, but 
 in particular from Mr. Blaine, who was specially 
 charged with their welfare, that they united in a 
 report to the German Government after their 
 return, asking that their personal thanks to him 
 might be supplemented by some official expres- 
 sion. Mr. Blaine thereupon received portraits of 
 the Emperor, the Crown Prince and Prince Bis- 
 marck, bearing their autograph signatures, and 
 an autograph letter from the aged Emperor, con- 
 veying acknowledgements of all the courtesies 
 shown and expressions of personal esteem. 
 
 This incident has not been forgotten by the 
 German Americans in this country. After Mr. 
 Elaine's nomination, Mr. William Mayer, editor 
 and publisher of four independent German news- 
 papers in New York, a morning and an afternoon 
 daily, a weekly and a Sunday journal, all of large 
 circulation, was asked his opinion of the candi- 
 date. He replied, " I believe he is certain to be 
 elected. It is quite true, that there is some hesi- 
 tation among Germans, owing to reports that 
 have been put in circulation by his opponents 
 that he is a German hater and a temperance 
 fanatic. I know Mr. Blaine too well to think for 
 a moment that he is either. His invitation to the 
 Steuben family, and his whole bearing toward 
 them while they were in this country, are suffi- 
 cient proof to me that he is no German hater." 
 
 At the same time, Mr. Blaine did not confine
 
 THE GERMAN QUESTION. 
 
 himself to civilities toward the Germans, or give 
 room for the accusation that he sought the favor 
 of the high rather than the lowly. He used all 
 his influence with Germany, and strongly sup- 
 ported the efforts of Minister White, in securing 
 the proper settlement of all matters of dispute in 
 regard to the nationality of our adopted citizens. 
 This was the only serious question with Germany 
 during his term, and his firmness contributed not 
 a little to its satisfactory adjustment, especially in 
 regard to Germany's new territory in Alsace- 
 Lorraine, which was for a time, claimed not to be 
 subject to the naturalization treatise made previ- 
 ous to its acquisition. 
 14
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ENFRANCHISED OR DISFRANCHISED. 
 
 WHETHER the negro ever should have been 
 enfranchised, or, having received this weighty 
 honor, whether he should be disfranchised, are 
 problems that statesmen and philanthropists have 
 grappled with in the by-gone years, and on it 
 they have expended their best strength. L. Q. 
 C. Lamar, Wade Hampton, Alexander H. Steph- 
 ens, Wendell Phillips, James A. Garfield, Mont- 
 gomery Blair, and troops of other giants upon 
 either side have done valiant service for their 
 respective views, but none of them has sounded a 
 clearer note, nor struck it more forcefully than 
 James G. Blaine. 
 
 Questions of this character owe their origin not 
 to any cooling of philanthropic interest, not to 
 any novel or radical views about universal suf- 
 frage, but to the fact that, in the judgment of 
 many of those hitherto accounted wisest, negro 
 suffrage has failed to attain the ends hoped for 
 when the franchise was conferred ; failed as a 
 means of more completely securing the negro's 
 civil rights ; failed to bring him the consideration 
 which generally attaches to power ; failed, indeed. 
 228
 
 ENFRANCHISED OR DISFRANCHISED. 22Q 
 
 to achieve anything except to increase the political 
 weight and influence of those against whom, and 
 in spite of whom, his enfranchisement was secured. 
 For these reasons it has been thought that the 
 enfranchisement of the negro was premature, and 
 that even now it needs modification. There are 
 not wanting those, too, who, on the ground of the 
 alleged inferiority of the negro, will clamor against 
 his right of franchise as it now exists, and would 
 strip him of it wholly. On' the situation as thus 
 outlined, Mr. Elaine has delivered himself as 
 follows : 
 
 "First. The two classes I have named, contem- 
 plating the possible or desirable disfranchisement 
 of the negro from entirely different standpoints, 
 and with entirely different aims, are both and 
 equally in the wrong. The first is radically in 
 error in supposing that a disfranchisement of the 
 negro would put him in the way of any develop- 
 ment or progress that would in time fit him for the 
 suffrage. He would instead grow more and more 
 unfit for it every day from the time the first 
 backward step should be taken, and he would 
 relapse, if not into actual chattel slavery, yet into 
 such a dependent and defenseless condition as 
 would result in only another form of servitude. 
 * # # * * * * 
 
 The second class is wrong in anticipating even the 
 remote possibility of securing the legal disfran- 
 chisement of the negro without a reduction of
 
 230 I. IKK OK JAMES r,. BLAINE. 
 
 representation. Both sides have fenced for posi- 
 tion on this question. * * * 
 
 "Second. Hut, while discussing the question of 
 the disfranchisement of the negro, and settling its 
 justice or expediency according to our discretion, 
 it may be worth while to look at its impractica- 
 bility, or, to state it still more strongly, its impos- 
 sibility. Logicians attach weight to arguments 
 drawn ab inconvcnicnti. * * * The negro is 
 secure against disfranchisement by two constitu- 
 tional amendments, and he can not be remanded 
 to the non-voting class until both these amend- 
 ments are annulled. And these amendments 
 can not be annulled until two-thirds of the Senate 
 and two-thirds of the House of Representatives 
 of the United States shall propose, and a maj'ority 
 in the Legislatures or conventions of twenty-nine 
 States shall, by affirmative vote, approve the annul- 
 ment. In other words, the negro can not be dis- 
 franchised so long as one vote more than one-third 
 in the United States Senate, or one vote more 
 than one-third in the House of Representatives, 
 shall be recorded against it ; and if these securi- 
 ties and safeguards should give way, then the 
 disfranchisement could not be effected so long as 
 a majority in one branch in the Legislatures of 
 only ten States should refuse to assent to it, and 
 refuse to assent to a convention to which it might 
 be referred. No human right on this continent is 
 more completely guaranteed than the right against
 
 ENFRANCHISED OR DISFRARCHISED. 23! 
 
 disfranchisement on account of race, color or pre- 
 vious condition of servitude, as embodied in the 
 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
 United States. 
 
 " Third. In enforcement and elucidation of my 
 second point, it is of interest to observe the rapid 
 advance and development of popular sentiment 
 in regard to the rights of the negro as expressed 
 in the last three amendments to the constitution 
 of the United States. In 1 865 Congress submitted 
 the Thirteenth Amendment, which merely gave the 
 negro freedom, without suffrage, civil rights, or citi- 
 zenship. In 1 866 the Fourteenth Amendment was 
 submitted, declaring the negro to be a citizen, but 
 not forbidding the States to withhold suffrage from 
 him yet inducing them to grant it by the provi- 
 sion that representation in Congress should be 
 reduced in proportion to the exclusion of male 
 citizens twenty-one years of age from the right to 
 vote, except for rebellion or other crime. In 1869 
 the decisive step was taken of declaring that ' the 
 right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
 not be abridged by the United States or by 
 any State on account of race, color or previous 
 condition of servitude.' A most important pro- 
 vision in this amendment is the inhibition upon 
 the ' United States ' as well as upon 'any State ;' 
 for it would not be among the impossible results 
 of a great political revolution, resting on preju- 
 dice and grasping for power, that, in the absence
 
 2^2 i. IF;: OF JA.MKS c, r. LA INT. 
 
 of this express negation, the United States might 
 assume or usurp the right to deprive the negro of 
 suffrage, and then the States would not be sub- 
 jected to the forfeiture of representation provided 
 in the Fourteenth Amendment as the result of the 
 denial or abridgement of suffrage by State; 
 authority. In this stately progression of organic 
 enactments the will of a great people is embodied, 
 and its reversal would be one of those revolutions 
 which would convulse social order and endanger 
 the authority of law. There will be no step back- 
 ward, but under the provision which specifically 
 confers on Congress the power to enforce each 
 amendment by 'appropriate legislation' there will 
 be applied from time to time, fitfully perhaps and 
 yet certainly, the restraining and correcting edicts 
 of national authority. 
 
 "Fourth. As I have already hinted, there will 
 be no attempt made in the Southern States to dis- 
 franchise the negro by any of those methods which 
 would still be within the power of the State. 
 There is no Southern State that would dare ven- 
 ture on an educational qualification, because by 
 the last census [1870] there were more than one 
 million white persons over fifteen years of age, in 
 the states lately slave-holding, who could not read 
 a word, and a still larger number who could not 
 write their names. There was, of courre, a still 
 greater number of negroes of the same ages who 
 could not read or write; but, in the nine years
 
 ENFRANCHISED OR DISFRANCHISED. 233 
 
 that have intervened since the census was taken, 
 there has been a much greater advance in the edu- 
 cation of the negroes than in the education of the 
 poor whites of the South ; and to-day on an edu- 
 cational cjualifkation it is quite probable that, while 
 the proportion would be in favor of the whites, 
 the absolute exclusion of the whites in some of 
 the States would be nearly as great as that of the 
 negroes. Nor would a property test operate with 
 any greater advantage to the whites. The slave 
 States always had a large class of very poor and 
 entirely uneducated whites, and any qualification 
 of property that would seriously diminish the negro 
 vote would also cut off a very large number of 
 whites from the suffrage. 
 
 "The second interrogatory, ' Ought he to have 
 been enfranchised?' is not practical but spec- 
 ulative ; and yet, unless it can be answered with 
 confidence in the affirmative, the moral tenure of 
 his suffrage is weakened, and, as a consequence, 
 his legal right to enjoy it is impaired. For 
 myself, I answer the second question in the affirm- 
 ative, with as little hesitation as I answered the 
 first in the negative. And, if the question were 
 again submitted to the judgment of Congress, I 
 would vote for suffrage irk the light of experience 
 with more confidence than I voted for it in the 
 light of an experiment."
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE CHINESE QUESTION. 
 
 WHEN the bill restricting Chinese immigration 
 was passed, Mr. Blaine gave it his support. Mr. 
 William Lloyd Garrison followed this action with 
 some severe strictures upon j;he course pursued 
 by those gentleman of the Senate "who stood 
 with Mr. Blaine in this vote. To these reflec- 
 tions Mr. Blaine replied in a letter already 
 cited The document was full and frank, and 
 its statements of facts were fortified by testi- 
 monies of the most reliable character. He stated 
 his reasons for his personal action in ten distinct 
 propositions. He first contends that Chinese 
 immigration is in no true and good sense immi- 
 gration at all. Secondly, that those who come, 
 whether males or females, are almost without 
 exception, of the lowest and vilest classes. Thirdly, 
 that those who have come do not assimilate with 
 our nationalities, but ii language, dress, customs, 
 and religion, remain separate and distinct as at the 
 very first of their settlement on our shores. Their 
 squalor and filth also separate them from all their 
 American neighbors. His fourth point touches 
 234
 
 THE CHINESE QUESTION. 235 
 
 the relation of Chinese to American labor. He 
 says : 
 
 " Is it not inevitable that a class of men living in 
 this degraded and filthy condition, and on the 
 poorest of food, can work for less than the Ameri- 
 can laborer is entitled to receive for his daily toil? 
 Put the two classes of laborers side by side, and 
 the cheap servile labor pulls down the more manly 
 toil to its level. The free white labor never could 
 compete with the slave labor of the South. In the 
 .Chinaman the white laborer finds only another 
 form of servile competition in some aspects more 
 revolting and corrupting than African slavery. 
 Whoever contends for the unrestricted immigra- 
 tion of Chinese coolies contends for that system 
 of toil which blights the prospects of the white 
 laborer dooming him to starvation wages, killing 
 his ambition by rendering his struggles hopeless, 
 and ending in a plodding and pitiable poverty. 
 
 "Nor is it a truthful answer to say that this dan- 
 ger is remote, Remote it may be for Mr. Garri- 
 ron, for Boston, and for New England, but it is 
 instant and pressing on the Pacific Slope. 
 Already the Chinese male adults on that coast are 
 well-nigh as numerous as the white voters of Cali- 
 fornia, and it is conceded that a Chinese emigrant 
 can be placed in San Francisco for one-half the 
 amount required to transport a man from the 
 Mississippi Valley to the Pacific coast, and for 
 one-third what it requires for a New Yorker or
 
 256 i. in-: OF JAMKS <;. W.AINE. 
 
 New Englander to reach California or Oregon. 
 The late Caleb Cushing, who had carefully studied 
 the Chinese question ever since his mission to 
 Peking in 1842, maintained that unless resisted 
 by the United States the first general famine in 
 China would be followed by an emigration to Cali- 
 fornia that would swamp the white race." 
 
 The probability is great that official endorsement 
 would incalculably increase the immigration from 
 China, the population of which is practically inex- 
 haustible. So far as treaty obligations are con- 
 cerned, Mr. Elaine holds that the Burlingame 
 treaty did not in any sense contemplate such 
 incoming of Chinese as has been realized, most 
 of it being a forced departure to avoid punish- 
 ment and penalties, and in no sense voluntary, 
 and much of the remainder being from the pauper 
 coolie class, which is never to be desired as an 
 element of population in this or any civilized 
 land. 
 
 14 A great deal," continues Mr. Elaine, 4 ' has 
 been said about the danger to our trade if China 
 should resort to some form of retaliation. The 
 natural and pertinent retaliation is to restrict 
 American immigration to China. Against that 
 we will enter no protest, and should have no right 
 to do so. The talk about China closing her ports 
 to our trade is made only by those who do not 
 understand the question. Last year the total 
 amount of our exports to all Chinese ports, outside
 
 THE CHINESE QUESTION". 237 
 
 of Hong Kong, was but $692,000. I have called 
 Hong Kong a Chinese port, but ever)' child 
 knows that it is under British control, and if we 
 were at war with China to-day Hong Kong would 
 be as open to us as Liverpool. To speak of 
 China punishing us by suspending trade is only 
 the suggestion of dense ignorance. We pay 
 China an immense balance in coin, and probably 
 we always shall do it. But if the trade question 
 had the importance which some have erroneously 
 attributed to it, I would not seek its continuance 
 by permitting a vicious immigration of Chinese 
 coolies. The Bristol merchants cried out that 
 commerce would be ruined if England persisted 
 in destroying the slave trade. But history does 
 not record that England sacrificed her honor by 
 yielding to the cry," 
 
 Returning again to the relation of this subject 
 to the labor question, Mr. Blaine says : " There 
 is not a laboring man from the Penobscot to the 
 Sacramento who would not feel aggrieved, out- 
 raged, burdened, crushed, by being forced into 
 competition with the labor and the wages of the 
 Chinese coolie. For one I will never consent by 
 my vote or my voice to drive the intelligent work- 
 ingmen of America to that competition and that 
 degradation."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AMERICAN SHIP-BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 
 
 How earnestly Mr. Elaine pleaded for the revi- 
 val of American ship-building and commerce was 
 shown briefly in the chapter presenting him as 
 an American of the Americans. This vital sub- 
 ject is very dear to his heart, and his eloquent 
 tongue has often plead for it. In January, 1881, 
 he- replied to Senator Beck, of Kentucky, who had 
 made a speech in favor of admitting free of duty 
 foreign ships built to American Registers. This 
 reply was made on the spot and without specific 
 preparation or data, except such as memory 
 recalled at the moment. Having referred to the 
 concession of Senator Beck, that his proposal did 
 look toward a permanent dependence upon Eng 
 land for our ships, Mr. Blaine continued : 
 
 " It is a fact equally remarkable that for the 
 past twenty-five years or make it only for the 
 past twenty years, from the beginning of the war 
 to this hour, the Congress of the United States 
 has not done one solitary thing to uphold the navi- 
 gation interests of the United States. Decay has 
 been observed going on steadily from year to 
 year. The great march forward of our commer-
 
 AMERICAN SHIP-BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 239 
 
 cial rival of old has been witnessed and every- 
 where recognized, and the representatives of the 
 people of the United States have sat in their two 
 houses of legislation as dumb as though they 
 could not speak, and have not offered a single 
 remedy or a single aid. And this has gone on 
 until now the Senator from Kentucky rises in his 
 seat and proposes to make a proclamation of per- 
 petual future dependence of this country upon 
 England for such commerce as she may enjoy, 
 holding up as models to us Germany, Italy, and 
 the other European countries that are as abso- 
 lutely dependent upon Great Britain for what 
 commerce they enjoy as the District of Columbia 
 is for its legislation upon the Congress of the 
 United States. 
 
 "During these years, in which Congress has 
 not stepped forward to do one thing for the for- 
 eign commerce of this country, for all that vast 
 external transportation whose importance the Sen- 
 ator from Kentucky has not exaggerated, but has 
 strongly depicted, the same Congress has passed 
 ninety-two acts in aid of internal transportation 
 by rail ; has given 200,000,000 acres of the pub- 
 lic lands, worth to-day a thousand million dollars 
 in money, and has added $70,000,000 in cash, 
 and yet, I repeat, it has extended the aid of 
 scarcely a single dolla- to build up our foreign 
 commerce.
 
 LIFE OF JAMKS C;. lil.AINK 
 
 "Mr. President, fas cst ab hostedoceri; it is 
 
 always lawful to be taught by an enemy. Great 
 Britain has been our great commercial rival, and 
 since the first Cunard steamship came into Boston, 
 just about forty years ago, when Great Britain, see- 
 ing that steam was to play so great and command- 
 ing a part in the navigation of the world first made 
 her venture, from that time down to the close of 
 1878, she had paid from her treasury, to aid great 
 steamship lines all over the world, a sum exceed- 
 ing forty million pounds sterling, more than two 
 hundred millions of American dollars. I know it 
 is a favorite argument with those who occupy the 
 position of the honorable Senator from Kentucky 
 that Great Britain started upon this plan and fol- 
 lowed it for a long period of years, and afterward 
 abandoned it. Sir, she has never abandoned it. 
 She has only abandoned its extension to those 
 lines that were strong enough to go alone, and 
 the British post-office report for the year 1879 
 shows that under the despised and ridiculed head 
 of postal aid, to which the honorable Senator 
 from Kentucky was pleased to refer with such 
 sneers, Great Britain paid last year ,783,000, 
 well-nigh four million dollars in coin. 
 
 " France gets her steamships from England. 
 France has adopted the commercial policy which 
 the honorable Senator from Kentucky thinks 
 would be the revival of the American shipping 
 interest; but does France, by the mere fact of get-
 
 AMERICAN SHlP-BCtLDtNG AND COMMERCE. 2.\l 
 
 ting her ships built at Birkenhead, or on the Clyde, 
 abandon the plan, which has been for thirty years 
 in operation under her government, of aiding her 
 ships ? Why, sir, last year France paid 23,000,000 
 francs more than four and a half million dollars 
 to aid her steamship lines. And when the celebrated 
 line of France, the company known as Messageries 
 Imperiale, competed too sharply in the Mediter- 
 ranean waters after the opening of the Suez 
 Canal, when that great French company competed 
 with the Peninsular and Oriental Company of 
 England, and was likely to endanger its supremacy 
 by a sharp rivalry, Great Britain promptly stepped 
 forward and added ,100,000 to the Peninsular 
 and Oriental subsidy. That is the way Great 
 Britain has abandoned the idea of aiding her 
 great commercial interests ! 
 
 "Italy, that is hemmed in upon a lake, with a 
 territory that does not touch either of the great 
 oceans, is running np largely in steam-navigation ; 
 Italy last year paid 8,000,000 francs ; and even 
 Austria, that enjoys but a single seaport on the 
 upper end of the Adriatic, pays $500,000 toward 
 stimulating commercial ventures from Trieste. 
 Now, the United States cannot succeed in this 
 great international struggle without adopting 
 exactly the same mode that^ has achieved victory 
 for France. What is it ? It is not to help A B or 
 C D or E F or anybody else by name, neither 
 Mr. John Roach, nor Mr. John Doe, nor Mr.
 
 242 LIFE OF JAMF.S C,. Ul.AINK. 
 
 Richard Roe, but to make a great ana compre- 
 hensive policy that shall give to every company a 
 pledge of aid from the Government of so much 
 per mile for such a term of years. Let the Amer- 
 ican merchants feel that the Government of the 
 United States is behind them. Let the United 
 States take from her Treasury per annum the 
 $4,000,000 that Great Britain is paying as a post- 
 script to her $200,000,000 of investment ; let the 
 United States but take $400,000 per annum 
 and that is not a great sum for this opulent coun- 
 try let that be used as a fund to stimulate any 
 company from any port of the United States to 
 any foreign port, and, without being a prophet or 
 the son of one, I venture to predict that you will 
 see that long-deferred, much-desired event, the 
 revival of the American merchant marine." 
 
 Mr. Blaine followed by urging that our costly 
 and useless Navy Yard system be abolished in 
 the main, and its cost be devoted to the promo- 
 tion of American shipping. After further illus- 
 tration of his subject, he finally said : 
 
 " It is idle to fight against the inventions of the 
 world ; it is idle for us to fold our arms and 
 suppose that wooden vessels are to maintain any- 
 thing like the importance they have hitherto had 
 in the commerce of the world. I think I under- 
 stand something of that subject. I have the 
 honor to be from the state that has built more 
 wooden vessels than all the rest of this Union
 
 AMERICAN SHIP-BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 243 
 
 beside, I believe. Within thirty miles of my own 
 residence is a town of only ten thousand people, 
 which is the largest wooden ship-building place 
 on the globe to-day. I know some little of that 
 subject ; and while the days of wooden-ships are 
 by no means over, while they will be a great and 
 needful auxiliary in the commence of the world, 
 yet it is manifest and is proven that the great 
 highways of international commerce, such as the 
 North Atlantic, the West India seas, the route 
 from San Francisco to Asia, that from San Fran- 
 cisco to Melborne, and in various and sundry and 
 divers other directions, will be occupied, and 
 occupied almost to the exclusion of sailing-vessels, 
 by the ocean steamers. The United States can 
 take a great part in that race ; they can take a 
 great part in it just whenever they make up their 
 mind that the instrumentality by which England 
 conquered is the one one which we must use ; 
 they can take it whenever they make up their 
 minds that a mercantile marine and naval estab- 
 lishment must grow and go together hand in hand, 
 and that the Congress of the United States is 
 derelict in its duty if it passes another naval 
 appropriation bill without accompanying it in 
 some form with some wise and forecasting 
 provision looking also to the upbuilding of the 
 American merchant marine." 
 
 Two years previous to the discussion described 
 above, Mr. Elaine put himself very decisively on
 
 244 I-Il'E OF J AMKS G. ULAINE. 
 
 record in an extended speech in the Senate favor- 
 ing a reduction of the Navy and encouraging 
 American shipping. He had presented two 
 amendments, one looking to a reduction in the 
 number of Navy officers to the lowest point con- 
 sistent with the authorized size of the Navy, and 
 also to the reduction of the number of our navy 
 yards, provided that the efficiency of the naval 
 establishment of the country should not thereby 
 be impaired. The other amendment provided 
 that appointments to the rank of midshipman, from 
 graduates of the United States Naval Academy, 
 should be made only as vacancies occurred, and 
 only on the basis of their standing at graduation. 
 
 The speech reviewed exhaustively the facts con- 
 cerning our navy and navy yards as then existing, 
 comparing them with the establishments of other 
 great naval powers, and showing the disadvan- 
 tage against our methods. Having shown the 
 good ground presumably existing in favor of 
 retrenchment in the navy, Mr. Blaine addressed 
 himself to its allied topic, the development of the 
 American mercantile marine. He said : 
 
 "Three-fourths, I do not know but I may over- 
 state it, but certainly one-half the report of the 
 Secretary of the Navy is devoted to the commerce 
 of the country, and a very able report it is. It 
 does him honor. I certainly am not out of order 
 in discussing on the naval bill that to which the 
 head of the department himself devotes so large
 
 AMERICAN SHIP-BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 245 
 
 a portion of his report. I say again, that what 
 may be saved out of the naval appropriation will 
 do that which I have already adverted to for 
 American commerce. We do not show any of 
 this, can I call it stinginess, in any other depart- 
 ment. We have given 200,000,000 acres of 
 public land to railroads ; we have now given 
 $60,000,000 in money ; and taking the value 
 of those lands and the value of that money, and 
 adding them together, it is safe to say that we 
 have endowed railroads in this country with 
 $500,000,000. 
 
 " From 1846 to 1871 the Congress of the United 
 States passed ninety-one acts for promoting the 
 building of railroads. There has not been much 
 legislation since 1871. There has been a reaction 
 against the policy, but from 1846 to 1871, I 
 repeat, a period of twenty-five years, the Congress 
 of the United States passed ninety-one different 
 acts, and endowed the railroad system of this 
 country with $500,000,000 of money, and that 
 $500,000,000 of money produced more than 
 $5,000,000,000 of money in this country. My 
 judgment is that the Congress of the United 
 States in everything they did in that respect did 
 wisely. They cheapened freights. Clinton's 
 ditch, as it used to be called, was sneered at when 
 it was an experiment, but the minute the water 
 was let into it it reduced the freights that had been 
 $100 from Buffalo to New York down to $7 a ton ;
 
 246 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 and it is not an exaggeration to say that at that 
 day, before railroads were among us, the water 
 that was let in from Lake Erie to that canal added 
 $100,000,000 to the value of the farms west of it. 
 " As individuals, cities, towns, counties, states, 
 a nation, we have exerted ourselves to the utmost 
 point of enterpise and Vigor to build up railroads. 
 We have a system that outruns all the world, and 
 with great trunk lines threading the continent, 
 north, south, east and west, in every direction. 
 The very moment we reach the ocean limit, we 
 seem to think we have done our duty, and that 
 when we have got transportation to that point it 
 no longer interests us, and we can safely give that 
 over to the foreigner. Why, from Chicago to 
 Liverpool is one direct line. I wonder how it 
 would sound if Mr. Vanderbilt, who is running a 
 line of steamships manned by foreign men, com- 
 manded by foreign officers, built in foreign yards, 
 whose money earnings go entirely outside of this 
 country, were to apply that to the New York 
 Central Railroad, and select all the brakemen and 
 switchmen and conductors and tenders and 
 officers on the Central Railroad from foreigners ; 
 to put on it locomotives that are all made in 
 England ; to let all its earnings be exported. 
 Such a policy would not be one particle more det- 
 rimental and destructive to the interests of this 
 country than for us when that Central Railroad 
 had touched salt water with all the countless pro-
 
 AMERICAN SHIP-BUILDING AND COMMERCE. 247 
 
 ducts of the fertile West to give up all the profits 
 of participation in the transportation of them 
 beyond. From Chicago to Liverpool is a route 
 of four thousand miles. We operate one thous- 
 and miles of it and give three thousand miles to 
 the foreigner. 
 
 " Mr. President, I will state my views on this 
 subject, and I shall take the privilege of bringing 
 the Senate to some vote that will test its sense on 
 that question. My idea is that the Government 
 of the United States should give to any man or 
 company of men aid from the treasury of the 
 United States if he or they shall establish and 
 maintain a line of steamships to any foreign port, 
 or I might limit it to European, South American, 
 and Asiatic ports. I would invite competition 
 from San Francisco, from Portland, Oregon, from 
 Galveston, from New Orleans, from Mobile, from 
 Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, Norfolk, Bal- 
 timore, New York, Boston, Portland, and every- 
 where. I would let all come in who can sustain 
 it. The touchstone is what will be sustained by 
 the trade, and that you can safely leave to the 
 instinct and to the knowledge of American com- 
 mercial men."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MUNICIPAL DEBT. 
 
 IN an address upon Municipal Debt, Mr. Elaine 
 reviewed the history of these encumbrances, in all 
 lands, and then spoke of the debts incurred by 
 nations, states, counties, and cities or towns. These 
 forms of public debts, he pronounced a "quadru- 
 plicate burden" to carry which every man and 
 every piece of property, in some way must con- 
 tribute its share. "When the city is pledging its 
 credit," said Mr. Elaine, "it seems to forget that 
 a heavy debt is already upon the county of which 
 it forms an integral part ; the county freely incurs 
 debt without apparently remembering that every 
 estate in it is already encumbered by a direct tax 
 to pay the interest on a debt of the State ; and 
 the State too often makes lavish use of its credit 
 without pausing to reflect that every one of its 
 citizens is already burdened by the tax which he 
 is paying to liquidate the debt of the nation. And 
 when in the end nation, and State, and county, 
 and city have each and all imposed their burdens, 
 the citizen finds that while the tax is increased 
 fourfold, the property to meet it has not expe- 
 248
 
 MUNICIPAL DEBT. 249 
 
 rienced a similar development and growth." This 
 power of indefinitely contracting municipal debt, 
 was amply illustrated, and its folly scattingly ex- 
 posed as the orator proceeded. 
 
 In approaching the practical conclusions of this 
 whole matter, the distinguished speaker said : 
 
 "In regard to the aggregate Municipal debt of 
 the country, it is not of course to be inferred that 
 it could all have been wisely avoided. Credit, pru- 
 dently used and safely guarded, is one of the great 
 engines of modern civilization and advancement, 
 and with Municipal Governments its uses at times 
 seems imperatively demanded. In many cases 
 the public health has required that debt be con- 
 tracted for supplies of pure water and for systems 
 of drainage and sewerage, and occasionally for 
 other forms of public improvement essential to the 
 growth of the community. But in the main, I 
 think our cities have been too ready to draw on 
 the future, to ready to pledge the ' lives and for- 
 tunes ' of posterity to the payment of a debt which 
 the generation contracting it is unable to dis- 
 charge. Expensive Municipal buildings, loan of 
 credit to outside enterprises, not needed and often 
 visionary, have led in some large cities to a growth 
 of debt for which there is no corresponding return 
 of pecuniary profit, and no adequate advantage 
 in any form. It is so easy to obtain Legislative 
 authority to contract debts ; it is so easy to sell a 
 good city bond to the capitalist who highly prizes
 
 250 I.IM: ni-- IA.MI.S <;. IJI.AIM-:. 
 
 such forms of security ; it is so easy to roll up a 
 debt to be taken care of by those who come after 
 us, instead of levying a severe tax to be paid by 
 ourselves ; in short, it is so easy and, alas ! so nat- 
 ural to have a smooth, enjoyable time to-day, 
 thinking 1 little of the ills that may overtake us on 
 the morrow." 
 
 The influences of such debts in diverting capi- 
 tal which might otherwise be actively employed 
 and in unreasonably advancing the rate of interest 
 were next discussed, and thus the way was pre- 
 pared for the question, what is the remedy ? To 
 this query Mr. Blaine gave answer as follows : 
 " First and foremost, an awakened, active, well- 
 balanced public judgment, which will suggest, 
 demand and enforce a wise caution and conserva- 
 tive course on this subject. I have no patent 
 remedy to propose, and yet I venture to suggest 
 that the Legislatures of many States have alto- 
 gether too large a power to create debt without 
 referring the subject to the people for their pri- 
 mary consideration. Perhaps I may entertain a 
 pre-judgment on this particular phase of the ques- 
 tion in favor of the stringent provision in the Con- 
 stitution of my own State, where the Legislature 
 has no power to incur a dollar's debt except for 
 war purposes, under the pressure of actual dan- 
 ger, and where an amendment to the Constitution 
 proposed by two-thirds of the Legislature and 
 then submitted to a vote of the people, is a pre-
 
 MUNICIPAL DEBT. S^I 
 
 requisite for pledging the credit of the State for 
 any other purpose whatever. 
 
 " It might also be a wise and salutary provision 
 to define in State Constitutions the precise ends 
 for which municipal credit should be used limit- 
 ing those uses to proper and restricted objects, 
 and forbidding in any event the creation of a debt 
 beyond a specified per centage of the official 
 valuation of the city or town ; providing at the 
 same time a judicious safeguard against the over- 
 lapping of county debts, so that while the town 
 was guarding its credit with care it should not be 
 involved in the embarrassment caused by an 
 extravagant extension of the credit of the county. 
 
 "And finally, as a governing principle, it would 
 be well to apply to all State, county and municipal 
 debts, the wise precaution contained in that famous 
 and well-remembered rule laid down by Mr. 
 Jefferson as the basis of all sound national credit: 
 
 " ' Never consent to borrow a dollar without 
 laying a tax at the same instant, for paying the 
 interest annually, and the principal within a given 
 term ; and consider that tax as pledged to the 
 creditors on the public faith. On such a pledge 
 as this, sacredly observed, a government may 
 always command, on a reasonable interest, all the 
 lendable money of its citizens ; whilst the necessity 
 of an equivalent tax is a salutary warning to them 
 and their constituents against oppression, bank- 
 ruptcy, and its inevitable result, revolution." 1
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 IRREDEEMABLE PAPER CURRENCY. 
 
 ON the money question Mr. Elaine stands 
 among the soundest and most advanced financiers, 
 and has always stood there. In addition to illustra- 
 tions already given of this fact some points may 
 be cited from his speech on this subject, which 
 was delivered in the House of Representatives, 
 February loth, 1876, a date prior to the resump- 
 tion of specie payment in our land. The financial 
 situation of the day was thus stated in the open- 
 ing paragraph of the speech : " For more than 
 two years the country has been suffering from 
 prostration in business ; confidence returns but 
 slowly ; trade revives only partially ; and to-day, 
 with capital unproductice and labor unemployed, 
 we find ourselves in the midst of an agitation 
 respecting the medium with which business trans- 
 actions shall be carried on. Until this question is 
 definitely adjusted it is idle to expect that full 
 measure of prosperity to which the energies of 
 our people and the resources of the land entitle 
 us. 
 
 "If," said Mr. Elaine as he proceeded on this 
 
 topic, " there was any one principle that was 
 252
 
 IRREDEEMABLE PAPER CURRENCY. 253 
 
 rooted and grounded in the minds of our earlier 
 
 o 
 
 statesmen, it was the evil of paper-money ; and 
 no candid man of any party can read the Consti- 
 tution of the United States and not be convinced 
 that its formers intended to protect and defend 
 our people from the manifold perils of an 
 irredeemable currency. Nathaniel Macon, one of 
 the purest and best of American statesman, him- 
 self a soldier of the Revolution and a member of 
 Congress continuously during the administration 
 of our first six Presidents, embracing in all a, 
 period of nearly forty years, expressed the whole 
 truth when he declared in the Senate that ' this 
 was a hard-money government, founded by hard- 
 money men, who had themselves seen and felt the 
 evil of paper-money and meant to save their 
 posterity from it.' 
 
 " To this uniform adherence to the specie 
 standard the crisis of the Rebellion forced an 
 exception. In January, 1862, with more than half 
 a million of men in arms, with a daily expenditure 
 of nearly two millions of dollars, the Government 
 suddenly found itself without money. Customs 
 yielded but little, internal taxes had not yet been 
 levied, public credit was feeble, if not paralyzed, 
 our armies had met with one signal reverse and 
 nowhere with marked success, and men's minds 
 were filled with gloom and apprehension. The 
 one supreme need of the hour was money, and 
 money the Government did not have, What,
 
 254 LIFE OF |AMi:s (',. IM.AINE. 
 
 then, should be done rather, what could be 
 done ? The ordinary Treasury note had been 
 tried and failed, and those already issued were 
 discredited and below the value of the bills of 
 country banks. The Government in this great 
 and perilous need promptly called to its aid a 
 power never before exercised. It authorized the 
 issue of one hundred and fifty millions of notes, 
 and declared them to be a legal tender for all 
 debts, public and private, with two exceptions. 
 
 "The ablest lawyers who sustained this measure 
 did not find warrant for it in the text of the Con- 
 stitution, but like the late Senator Fessenden, of 
 my own State, placed it on the ground of 'abso- 
 lute, overwhelming necessity ; ' and that illustri- 
 ous Senator declared that, 'the necessity existing, 
 he had no hesitation.' Indeed, sir, to hesitate 
 was to be lost, for the danger was that, if Con- 
 gress prolonged the debate on points of constitu- 
 tional construction, its deliberation might be 
 interrupted by the sound of artillery on the oppo- 
 site shore of the Potomac. The Republican 
 Senators and representatives, therefore, dismiss- 
 ing all doubts and casuistry, stood together for 
 the country."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PURITY OF THE BALLOT-BOX. 
 
 ON December nth, 1878, Mr. Elaine delivered 
 one of his most effective speeches. A resolution 
 introduced by himself was then pending. It pro- 
 vided for inquiry into certain alleged frauds in 
 elections then recently held in the Southern States. 
 Mr. Elaine opened by rehearsing the current 
 rumors concerning these abuses and pressed his 
 proposed inquiry in these words : 
 
 " The issue thus raised before the country, Mr. 
 President, is not one of mere sentiment for the 
 rights of the negro though far distant be the 
 day when the rights of any American citizen, 
 however black or however poor, shall form the 
 mere dust of the balance in any controversy ; nor 
 is the issue one that involves the waving of the 
 " bloody shirt," to quote the elegant venacular of 
 Democratic vituperation ; nor still further is the 
 issue as now presented only a question of the 
 equality of the black voter of the South with the 
 white voter of the South ; the issue, Mr. President, 
 has taken a far wider range, one of portentous 
 magnitude ; and that is, whether the white voter 
 of the North shall be equal to the white voter of 
 
 255
 
 256 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 the South in shaping the policy and fixing the 
 destiny of this country ; or whether, to put it still 
 more baldly, the white man who fought in the 
 ranks of the Union Army shall have as weighty 
 and influential a vote in the Government of the 
 Republic as the white man who fought in the ranks 
 of the rebel army. The one fought to uphold, 
 the other to destroy, the Union of the States, and 
 to-day he who fought to destroy is a far more 
 important factor in the Government of the nation 
 than he who fought to uphold it. 
 
 " Let me illustrate my meaning by comparing 
 groups of States of the same representative 
 strength North and South. Take the States 
 of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 
 They send seventeen Representatives to Con- 
 gress. Their aggregate population is composed 
 of ten hundred and thirty-five thousand whites and 
 twelve hundred and twenty-four thousand colored ; 
 the colored being nearly two hundred thousand 
 in excess of the whites. Of the seventeen repre- 
 sentatives, then, it is evident that nine were 
 apportioned to these States by reason of their 
 colored population, and only eight by reason 
 of their white population; and yet in the choice of 
 the entire seventeen Representatives the colored 
 voters had no more voice or power than their 
 remote kindred on the shores of Senegambia or 
 on the Gold Coast. The ten hundred and thirty- 
 five thousand white people had the sole and
 
 PURITY OF THE BALLOT-BOX. 257 
 
 absolute choice of the entire seventeen Represen- 
 tatives. In contrast, take two States in the North, 
 Iowa and Wisconsin, with seventeen Representa- 
 tives. They have a white population of two 
 million, two hundred and forty-seven thousand 
 considerably more than double the entire white 
 population of the three Southern States I have 
 named. In Iowa and Wisconsin, therefore, it 
 takes one hundred and thirty-two thousand white 
 population to send a Representative to Congress, 
 but in South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana, 
 every sixty thousand white people send a Repre- 
 sentative. In other words, sixty thousand white 
 people in those Southern States have precisely 
 the same political power in the government of the 
 country that one hundred and thirty-two thousand 
 white people have in Iowa and Wisconsin." 
 
 Mr. Elaine then proceeded to quote from the 
 fourteenth amendment, and to show therefrom 
 that this superior power of the Southern voter was 
 not by reason of law or justice, but in disregard 
 and defiance of both. He said : 
 
 " The patent, unde-niable intent of this provision 
 was that if any class of voters were denied, or in 
 any way abridged in their right of suffrage, then 
 the class so denied or abridged should not be 
 counted in the basis of representation ; or, in 
 other words, that no State or States should gain 
 a large increase of representation in Congress by 
 reason of counting any class of population not
 
 258 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 permitted to take part in electing such Repre- 
 sentatives. But the construction given to this 
 provision is that before any forfeiture of represen- 
 tation can be enforced the denial or abridgment 
 of suffrage must be the result of a law specifically 
 enacted by the State. Under this construction 
 every negro voter may have his suffrage absolutely 
 denied or fatally abridged by the violence, actual 
 or threatened, of irresponsible mobs, or by frauds 
 and deceptions of State officers from the Governor 
 down to the last election clerk, and then, unless 
 some State law can be shown that authorizes the 
 denial or abridgment, the State escapes all penalty 
 or peril of reduced representation. This construc- 
 tion may be upheld by the courts, ruling on the 
 letter of the law, " which killeth," but the spirit of 
 justice cries aloud against the evasive and 
 atrocious conclusion that deals out oppression to 
 the innocent and shields the guilty from the 
 legitimate consequences of wilful transgression. 
 
 "The political power thus appropriated by 
 Southern Democrats, by reason of the negro 
 population, amounts to thirty-five Representatives 
 in Congress. It is massed almost solidly and 
 offsets the great State of New York ; or Penn- 
 sylvania and New Jersey together ; or the whole 
 of New England ; or Ohio and Indiana united ; or 
 the combined strength of Illinois, Minnesota, 
 Kansas, California, Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado,
 
 PURITY OF THE BALLOT-BOX. 259 
 
 and Oregon. The seizure of this power is wanton 
 usurpation ; it is flagrant outrage ; it is violent 
 perversion of the whole theory of republican gov- 
 ernment. It inures solely to the present advan- 
 tage, and yet, I believe, to the permanent dishonor 
 of the Democratic party. It is by reason of this 
 trampling down of human rights, this ruthless 
 seizure of unlawful power that the Democratic 
 party holds the popular branch of Congress 
 to-day, and will, in less than ninety days, have 
 control of" this body also, thus grasping the entire 
 legislative department of the Government through 
 the unlawful capture of the Southern States. 
 
 -.j: # :j: # : :j: & # 
 
 " And this injustice is wholly unprovoked. 
 I doubt if it be in the power of the most 
 searching investigation to show that in any 
 Southern state during the period of Republican 
 control any legal voter was ever debarred from 
 the freest exercise of his suffrage. Even the 
 revenges which would have leaped into life with 
 many who despised the negro were buried out of 
 sight with a magnanimity which the ' superior 
 race ' fail to follow and seem reluctant to recog- 
 nize. I know it is said in retort of such charges 
 against the Southern elections as I am now 
 reviewing that unfairness of equal gravity pre- 
 vails in Northern elections. I hear it in many 
 quarters, and read it in the papers, that in the late 
 exciting election in Massachusetts intimidation 
 
 16
 
 26O LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 and bull-dozing, if not so rough and rancor- 
 ous as in the South, were yet as widespread and 
 effective. 
 
 " I have read, and yet I refuse to believe, that 
 the distinguished gentleman, who made an 
 energetic but unsuccessful canvass for the gov- 
 ernorship of that state, has indorsed and approved 
 these charges, and I have accordingly made my 
 resolution broad enough to include their thorough 
 investigation. I am not demanding fair elections 
 in the South without demanding fair elections in 
 the North also. But venturing to speak for the 
 New England States, of whose laws and customs 
 I know something, I dare assert that in the late 
 election in Massachusetts, or any of her neigh- 
 boring Commonwealths, it will be impossible to 
 find even one case where a voter was driven 
 from the polls, where a voter did not have the fullest, 
 fairest, freest opportunity to cast the ballot of his 
 choice, and have it honestly and faithfully counted 
 in the returns. Suffrage on this continent was 
 first made universal in New England, and in the 
 administration of their affairs her people have 
 found no other appeal necessary than that which 
 is addressed to their honesty of conviction and to 
 their intelligent self-interest. If there be any- 
 thing different to disclose, I pray you show it to us 
 that we may amend our ways. 
 
 SfC IjS V 3jt S|S tjt SJC 
 
 "I know something of public opinion in the
 
 PURITY OE THE BALLOT-BOX. 261 
 
 North. I know a great deal about the views, 
 wishes and purposes of the Republican party of 
 the nation. Within that entire great organiza- 
 tion there is not one man, whose opinion is 
 entitled to be quoted, that does not desire peace 
 and harmony and friendship and a patriotic and 
 fraternal union between the North and the South. 
 This wish is spontaneous, instinctive, universal, 
 throughout the Northern States ; and yet, among 
 men of character and sense, there is surely no 
 need of attempting to deceive ourselves as to the 
 precise truth. First pure, then peaceable. Gush 
 will not remove a grievance, and no disguise of 
 state rights will close the eyes of our people to 
 the necessity of correcting a great national wrong. 
 Nor should the South make the fatal mistake of 
 concluding that injustice to the negro is not also 
 injustice to the white rrmn ; nor should it ever be 
 forgotten that for the wrongs of both a remedy 
 will assuredly be found. The war, with all its 
 costly sacrifices, was fought in vain useless equal 
 rights for all classes be established in all the states 
 of the Union ; and now, in words which are those 
 of friendship, however differently they may be 
 accepted, I tell the men of the South here on this 
 floor, and beyond this chamber, that even if they 
 could strip the negro of his constitutional rights 
 they can never permanently maintain the inequal- 
 ity of white men in this nation ; they can never 1 
 make a white man's vote in the South doubly as
 
 262 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 powerful in the administration of the government 
 as a white man's vote in the North. 
 
 " In a memorable debate in the House of Com- 
 mons, Mr. Macaulay reminded Daniel O'Connell, 
 when he was moving for repeal, that the English 
 whigs had endured calumny, abuse, popular fury, 
 loss of position, exclusion from Parliament, rather 
 than the great agitator himself should be less than 
 a British subject ; and Mr. Macaulay warned him 
 that they never would suffer him to be more. Let 
 me now remind you that the Government under 
 whose protecting flag we sit to-day sacrificed 
 myriads of lives and expended thousands of mil- 
 lions of treasure that our countrymen of the South 
 should remain citizens of the United States, hav- 
 ing equal personal rights and equal political 
 privileges with all other citizens. And I venture, 
 now and here, to warn the men of the South, in 
 the exact words of Macaulay, that we will never 
 suffer them to be more ! " 
 
 It need hardly be said that this brilliant conclu- 
 sion was greeted with hearty applause, to suppress 
 which required the vigorous use of the President's 
 gavel. The plea was- effective in securing the 
 desired investigation, and it is characteristic of 
 the frank, fearless and forcible manner in which 
 Mr. Blaine meets every great question.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AN AFTER-DINNER SPEECH. 
 
 To make a good after-dinner speech has time 
 out of mind been regarded as the crucial test of 
 a genial, jovial, splendid soul. So much of the 
 severer side of Mr. Blaine has been shown in the 
 extracts from his speeches already given, that it 
 might be supposed he was always the statesman 
 and the orator. But he has a side of the very 
 sunniest kind, and to illustrate it the occasion of 
 the dinner of the New England Society, of New 
 York, may be cited. At this distinguished gath- 
 ering, on December 23d, 1878, the President of 
 the Society, Mr. D. T. Appleton, introduced Mr. 
 Blaine, not as a New Englander by birth, but as a 
 fit representative of that section, and called upon 
 him to respond to this toast: "New England 
 Character Adapted to every requirement ; it fits 
 her sons not only to fill, but to adorn every 
 station." 
 
 Mr. Blaine began his remarks thus: "The 
 President has kindly relieved me from a personal 
 explanation. I am only a brother-in-law. [Laugh- 
 ter.] And brothers-in-law are useful in families 
 
 [renewed laughter], and in a New England family, 
 
 263
 
 264 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 where modesty is the prevailing fault, and where 
 you can rarely get one of the direct blood and 
 descent to say anything in praise of his race, it is, 
 perhaps, meet and proper that, unembarrassed by 
 any consideration of personal prudery, I can speak 
 my mind freely about you all. I never saw New 
 England till I was a man grown, but I have lived 
 more than half my life on its soil, and I have six 
 children, who represent the ninth generation in 
 descent from the old Massachusetts colonists. 
 And I am hot ashamed to say, Mr. President, in 
 any presence, recollecting as I always do, with 
 pride, my Pennsylvania birth and my Scotch and 
 Scotch-Irish ancestry I am not afraid or ashamed 
 to say in any presence, that in the settlement of" 
 this continent, and the shaping and moulding of 
 its institutions, the leading place, the chief merit 
 belongs to New England. [Applause.] Why, 
 every -chapter of its history is weighty with 
 momentous events. A small number came in 
 1620; there was no immigration to speak of till 
 1630; there was none after 1640. And the 
 21,000 men that came in those brief years are the 
 progenitors of a race that includes one-third of 
 the people of the United States of America. They 
 are the progenitors of a race of people twice as 
 numerous as all who spoke the English language 
 in the world when they came to these shores." 
 
 Mr. Elaine having next sketched rapidly the 
 deeds of the New England colonists and their
 
 AN AFTER-DINNER SPEECH. 265 
 
 descendants, resumed his lighter vein again, say- 
 ing: : "Well, that this race has been abused and 
 
 o 
 
 reviled, is, of course, inevitable. You remember 
 the old gentleman in the London club. When he 
 was fumbling with his watch chain, somebody, 
 complimenting him on its strength, said : ' Of 
 course it is strong. There is nary a pickpocket 
 in London as hasn't taken a tug at it in his day.' 
 There is hardly anybody who has not taken a 
 hand in abusing the Yankee race. I never heard 
 it abused in quite so eloquent a manner as by our 
 friend of the Central Railroad this evening. 
 [Laughter.] Now, in enjoying the dinner of the 
 New England Society of New York and I almost 
 catch my breath when I say the New England 
 Society of New York you do not know how we 
 regard it in New England. There are a great 
 many men in New England who aspire to get into 
 Congress, first the House, and then the Senate 
 and then the Cabinet, and then, under the inspira- 
 tion of the strong air and the mountain scenery 
 of Vermont, aspire still higher. [Turning round to 
 Mr. Evarts a movement which provoked loud 
 laughter.] But that is only the few. The one 
 thing which every boy, as he grows up in New 
 England, however, looks forward to as the crown- 
 ing glory of his life, is to dine some day with the 
 New England Society of New York. Without 
 this, his sum of human happiness is not complete. 
 I have received your invitation for many years
 
 266 LIFE OF JAMF.S G. BLAINE. 
 
 past, but it has been my misfortune never to have 
 been able to be present until now, and I am here 
 this evening to acknowledge all the pleasure I 
 enjoy in the present, and to express my regret for 
 all that I have missed in the past ! " 
 
 Here, again, Mr. Blaine indulged for a few 
 moments in a more serious vein, and then said : 
 " Mr. President, I should like to see this splendid 
 company seated at a typical New England feast 
 of the olden time ; a feast spread on tables that 
 came over in the May Flower ; you can find plenty 
 of them ! [Laughter] the guests seated on chairs 
 that belonged to John Alden and Miles Standish ; 
 and no well-regulated New England family is 
 without a broken assortment of them. [Loud 
 laughter.] I should like to see a feast thus cele- 
 brated that should reproduce, as far as might be, 
 the harder times and the coarser fare which they 
 endured, that we, their descendants, and we, their 
 friends, might enjoy the more bounteous and more 
 elegant repast with which we are indulged to-day. 
 And I should like, Mr. President, to impress upon 
 every New Englander, whether seated at the 
 primitive table of coarse fare or the modern table 
 of costly luxury, that with one voice we echo the 
 declarations of our distinguished friend, the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, in favor of an honest dol- 
 lar, and that with equal faith we believe in an 
 honest ballot ! " 
 
 Great and prolonged applause greeted this
 
 AN AFTER-DINNER SPEECH. 267 
 
 utterance, after which the speaker closed with the 
 following brilliant peroration : 
 
 " Mr. President, I thank you very sincerely, I 
 thank you all, gentlemen of the New England 
 Society, more than I can express, for the cordiality 
 of your welcome. And in this brilliant scene, in 
 this grand and delightful meeting, in this assem- 
 blage, surrounded with everything that gives com- 
 fort and grace and elegance to social life, in this 
 meeting, protected by law, and itself representing 
 law, let me recall one memory always present with 
 me on such occasions, and that is the sadness if 
 sadness may be protruded upon a meeting such 
 as this the sadness which I feel when I remem 
 ber the men who, in 1620, landed on the Plymouth 
 shore, and did not survive the first year. For of 
 all the men engaged in great and heroic contests, 
 those, I think, are most to be commiserated and 
 most to be sympathized with who, making all the 
 sacrifices and enduring all the hardships, are not 
 permitted to enjoy any of the triumphs or the 
 blessings. It was Quincy who died before the 
 first shot was fired in the Revolution he did so 
 much to create ; it was Warren who died when 
 the first shot was fired ; it was Reynolds who, 
 when rallying his corps for the doubtful and criti- 
 cal battle of Gettysburg, fell before he knew its 
 fate ; it was McPherson, in the great march to the 
 sea, who lost his life before he knew the issue of 
 that daring and almost romantic expedition. For
 
 268 I. IKK OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 these and all such, from Plymouth Rock to the last 
 battle-field of the rebellion, that perished in their 
 pride, and perished before they knew that what 
 they were dying for should succeed, I offer, and I 
 am sure you will join with me in offering, our pro- 
 found veneration, our respectful homage."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 
 
 THE title of "Plumed Knight," for Mr. Elaine, 
 at once struck the popular fancy, and was eagerly 
 adopted. It seemed to express both his gallant 
 and chivalric bearing, and that quality of leader- 
 ship that lead his party to follow him as enthusias- 
 tically and victoriously as the army of Navarre did 
 the white-decked hemlet of their King. An earlier 
 allusion of the same sort is claimed for " Tom 
 Fitch," the "silver-tongued orator" of the Pacific 
 coast, but the general use of the phrase dates from 
 the eloquent speech of Robert G. Ingersoll, in pre- 
 senting Mr. Elaine's name to the Republican Con- 
 vention of 1876. This will justify the insertion of 
 the most important passages of the speech in these 
 pages. Mr. Ingersoll then said : 
 
 " The Republicans of the United States demand as 
 their leader in the great contest of 1876 a man of intel- 
 ligence, a man of integrity, a man of well-known and 
 approved political opinions. They demand a statesman. 
 They demand a reformer after, as well as before, the elec- 
 tion. They demand a politician in the highest, broadest, 
 and best sense a man of superb moral courage. They 
 demand a man acquainted with public affairs, with the 
 269
 
 270 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 wants of the people, with not only the requirements of 
 the hour, but with the demands of the future. They 
 demand a man broad enough to comprehend the relations 
 of this Government to the other nations of the earth. 
 They demand a man well versed in the powers, duties, 
 and prerogatives of each and every department of this 
 Government. They demand a man who will sacredly 
 preserve the financial honor of the United States ; one 
 who knows .enough to know that the national debt must 
 be paid through the prosperity of this people ; one who 
 knows enough to know that all the financial theories in 
 the world cannot redeem a single dollar ; one who knows 
 enough to know that all the money must be made, not by 
 law, but by labor ; one who knows enough to know that 
 the people of the United States have the industry to make 
 the money and the honor to pay it over just as fast as 
 they make it 
 
 " The Republicans of the United States demand a man 
 who knows that prosperity and resumption, when they 
 come, must come together ; that when they come they 
 will come, hand in hand, through the golden harvest fields; 
 hand in hand by the whirling spindles and the turning 
 wheels ; hand in hand past the open furnace doors ; hand 
 in hand by the flaming forges ; hand in hand by the 
 chimneys filled with eager fire, greeted and grasped by 
 the countless sons of toil. This money has to be dug 
 out of the earth. You cannot make it by passing reso- 
 lutions in a political convention. 
 
 " The Republicans of the United States want a man 
 who knows that this Government should protect every 
 citizen at home and abroad ; who knows that any govern- 
 ment that will not defend its defenders, and protect its 
 protectors, is a disgrace to the map of the world. They
 
 THE PLUMED ANIGHT. 27! 
 
 demand a man who believes in the eternal separation and 
 divorcement of church and school. They demand a man 
 whose political reputation is spotless as a star ; but they 
 do not demand that their candidate shall have a certificate 
 of moral character signed by a confederate congress. 
 The man who has, in full, heaped, and rounded measure, 
 all these splendid qualifications, is the present grand and 
 gallant leader of the Republican party James G. Elaine. 
 
 " Our country, crowned with the vast and marvelous 
 achievements of its first century, asks for a man worthy 
 of the past and prophetic of her future ; asks for a man 
 who has the audacity of genius ; asks for a man who has 
 the grandest combination of heart, conscience, and brain 
 beneath her flag such a man is James G. Elaine. For 
 the Republican host, led by this intrepid man, there can 
 be no defeat. 
 
 " This is a grand year a year filled with the recollec- 
 tions of the Revolution ; filled with proud and tender 
 memories of the past ; with the sacred legends of liberty 
 a year in which the sons of freedom will drink from the 
 fountains of enthusiasm a year in which the people call 
 for a man who has preserved in Congress what our 
 soldiers won upon the field a year in which they call 
 for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the 
 tongue of slander ; for the man who has snatched the 
 mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion ; 
 for the man who, like an intellectual athlete, has stood in 
 the arena of debate and challenged all comers, and who 
 is still a total stranger to defeat. 
 
 " Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James 
 G. Elaine marched down the halls of the American Con- 
 gress and threw his shining lance full and fair against the 
 brazen foreheads of the defamers of his country and the
 
 272 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 maligncrs of her honor. For the Republican party to 
 desert this gallant leader now is as though an army 
 should desert their general upon the field of battle. 
 
 " James G. Blaine is now and has been for years the 
 bearer of the sacred standard of the Republican party. I 
 call it sacred, because no human being can stand beneath 
 its folds without becoming and without remaining free. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Convention : In the name of the 
 great Republic, the only Republic that ever existed upon 
 this earth ; in the name of all her defenders and of all her 
 supporters ; in the name of all her soldiers living ; in the 
 name of all her soldiers dead upon the field of battle, and 
 in the name of those who perished in the skeleton clutch 
 of famine at Andersonville and Libby, whose sufferings 
 he so vividly remembers, Illinois Illinois nominates for 
 the next President of this country that prince of par- 
 liamentarians, that leader of leaders, James G. Blaine." 
 
 Mr. Elaine's knightly conquests have not been 
 made on the fields of martial strife. Some, in 
 their anxiety to disparage, may make this as a 
 point against him and his conceded title, but 
 though his pre-eminent abilities for statesmanship 
 have kept him constantly in civil employment, it 
 is certain that there is no warmer friend of the 
 soldiers and sailors who actually did the fighting 
 for the Union in their many bloody battles. From 
 the very first outbreak of the war until he left 
 Congress he was foremost in advocating every 
 measure that could add to the efficiency of the 
 armies in the field, comfort or reward the nation's 
 brave defenders, and relieve their widows and
 
 THE PLUMED KNIGHT. 273 
 
 children from danger of want. His earnest 
 
 o 
 
 sympathy made him from the first a sharer in all 
 the aspirations, interests and wishes of the soldier 
 on the field. 
 
 A volunteer officer who served with conspicuous 
 usefulness recently said that what sent him to 
 the war was the accidental hearing of a speech of 
 Mr. Elaine's in the Maine legislature, in reply to 
 the ablest constitutional lawyer in that body, who 
 had denied the right of the Federal government 
 to resist secession, and advocated a peace policy. 
 Mr. Elaine was Speaker, but descended from the 
 chair, and in eloquent words not only overturned 
 the legal sophistries of his opponent, but set forth 
 the duty of every true American in the impend- 
 ing crisis in a manner that roused the deepest and 
 most effective enthusiasm. From that time there 
 was no question about the aid of Maine in the 
 vigorous prosecution of the war. So it will be 
 found in examining Mr. Elaine's record through- 
 out that he has always been on the side of the 
 soldier, never against him, and so he will continue 
 while life and energy remain to him, knightly in 
 his spirit, soldierly in his deeds.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OUT OF POLITICS. 
 
 As soon as President Arthur had passed the 
 difficulties natural to such an unexpected begin- 
 ning of a new Administration, and was in no danger 
 of embarrassment from this course, Mr. Elaine 
 pressed for an immediate acceptance of the resig- 
 nation which he had tendered along with those of 
 the other members of Mr. Garfield's cabinet. 
 After such a year, even his iron constitution 
 craved a release from care, if not from occupation, 
 and he was anxious to return to private life. 
 
 It was a pleasant home to which he returned, 
 endeared to him first of all by the society of his 
 family, and, in a degree, only second to this, by 
 the beloved company of his books, of which he 
 has drawn around him the best of all ages. 
 Works of art, also, are not missing from his walls. 
 He does not regard the aesthetic rule that engrav- 
 ings and paintings should not hang in the same 
 apartment, for there are engravings in every 
 room, and paintings are not on that account 
 excluded. The gem of them all is the picture of 
 " Charles II. and his Court," painted by Sir Peter 
 Lely in 1668, and which Mr. Elaine was fortunate 
 
 274
 
 OUT OF POLITICS. 275 
 
 enough to acquire at the sale, a few years ago, of 
 some old effects of Lord Baltimore. Among his 
 curiosities is a large, number of autographs, 
 including those of Dickens, Thackeray, E. B. 
 Lytton, Gladstone, Gambetta, and other famous 
 cotemporaries, inscribed on pictures presented by 
 themselves. 
 
 In this pleasant retirement, all the more 
 enjoyable after twenty-five years of strife, Mr. 
 Blaine found ample occupation in that historical 
 work which he had proposed to himself some 
 years before, and to which he devoted himself 
 with the same thorbughness that has before been 
 described as part of his character. For the first 
 time, perhaps, he was a profound disappointment 
 to his friends. Contented with his position, 
 engrossed with his private interests and with 
 flattering offers for literary work, beyond what he 
 could execute in years by the utmost diligence, 
 Mr. Blaine declined to take part in politics, even 
 to aid his own candidacy for the highest office in 
 the land. No entreaties by those who thought 
 that he was defeating the hopes of his admirers 
 could shake this resolution, and, as it turned 
 out, he was wiser than they. Not disdaining the 
 prospective nomination, yet largely grown indif- 
 ferent to it, Mr. Blaine knew that it would come 
 to him, if at all, by the spontaneous movement of 
 the Republican masses, over-ruling those in 
 control of the machinery of the party. This move- 
 
 17
 
 276 LIKE OF JAMES (1. 15I.AINE. 
 
 ment he could not strengthen, but only perhaps 
 weaken, by going down into the thick of the fray, 
 and employing the same tactics as those who 
 were eagerly seeking their own aggrandizement. 
 So the voice of the people calling him from his 
 retirement, came to him, not exactly at the plow, 
 like Cincinnatus, but swinging in a hammock on 
 the lawn of his pleasant summer home at Augusta, 
 and it was whispered through a telephone to the 
 ear of his daughter, to whom it conveyed much 
 more pleasurable excitement than to him. 
 
 Here the present narrative necessarily leaves 
 him. He has had trials and struggles, but has 
 surmounted them all. He is strong in the affec- 
 tion of a host of friends in all parts of the Union. 
 His name is written high on the page of honor. 
 No cloud hovers upon the horizon of his life. The 
 people after twelve years waiting and two disap- 
 pointments, have wrung from the politicians the 
 right to vote for him for the most exalted dignity 
 in the world, the chief magistracy of over fifty 
 millions of freemen, and unless all signs fail he 
 will take his place in the White House on the 
 Fourth of March, to continue the work which fell 
 from the hand of Garfield, and to be in a sense 
 beyond his predecessors for man)- years an 
 American President of the Americans. 
 
 " Nihil quod tctigit lion oruai'it."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MR. ELAINE'S ASSOCIATE. 
 
 As a fitting conclusion to this part of our work, 
 and as a fitting introduction to the fuller con- 
 sideration of Elaine's associate in candidacy 
 beyond, General Logan's farewell to the "Army 
 of the Tennessee " is here inserted : 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE. 
 
 " Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee: 
 
 "The profound gratification I feel in being 
 authorized to release you from the onerous obli- 
 gations of the camp, and return you, laden with 
 laurels, to homes where warm hearts wait to 
 welcome you, is somewhat embittered by the 
 painful reflection that I am sundering the ties 
 that trials have made true, time made tender, 
 suffering made sacred, perils made proud, hero- 
 ism made honorable, and fame made forever 
 fearless of the future. It is no common occasion 
 that demands the disbandonment of a military 
 organization, before the resistless power of which, 
 mountains bristling with bayonets have bowed, 
 
 277
 
 278 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 cities have surrendered, and millions of brave 
 men been conquered. Although I have been 
 but a short period your commander, we are not 
 strangers. Affections have sprung up between us 
 during the long years of doubt and gloom, war 
 and carnage, which have passed, and which \vc 
 have passed through together, nurtured by com- 
 mon perils, sufferings and sacrifices, and riveted 
 by the memories of gallant comrades, whose 
 bones repose beneath the sod of an hundred 
 battle-fields, nor time nor distance will weaken or 
 efface. The many marches you have made, the 
 dangers you have despised, the haughtiness you 
 have humbled, the duties you have discharged, 
 the glory you have gained, the destiny you have 
 discovered for the country, in \vhose cause you 
 have conquered, all recur at this moment in all 
 the vividness that marked the scenes through 
 which we passed. From the pens of the ablest 
 historians of the land, daily are drifting out upon 
 the current of time, page upon page, volume 
 upon volume of your deeds, and, floating down to 
 future generations, will inspire the student of 
 history with admiration, the patriot American 
 with veneration for his ancestors, and the lover 
 of republican liberty, with gratitude for those 
 who in a fresh baptism of blood re-consecrated 
 the powers and energies of the Republic to the 
 cause of constitutional freedom. Long may it 
 be the happy fortune of each and every one of
 
 MR. ELAINE S ASSOCIATE. 279 
 
 you to live in the full fruition of the boundless 
 blessings you have secured to the human race. 
 
 "Only he whose heart has been thrilled with 
 admiration for your impetuous and unyielding 
 valor in the thickest of the fight, can appreciate 
 with what pride I can recount the brilliant achieve- 
 ments which immortalize you, and enrich the 
 pages of our National history. Passing by the 
 earlier, but not less signal triumphs of the war, 
 in which most of you participated, and inscribed 
 upon your banners such victories as Donaldson 
 and Shiloh, I recur to campaigns, seiges, and vic- 
 tories that challenge the admiration of the world, 
 and elicit the unwilling applause of all Europe. 
 Turning your backs upon the blood-bathed heights 
 of Vicksburg, you launched into a region swarm- 
 ing with enemies, fighting your way and marching, 
 without adequate supplies, to answer the cry for 
 succor that came to you from the noble but 
 beleagured army at Chattanooga. 
 
 " Your steel next flashed among the mountains 
 of the Tennessee, and your weary limbs found 
 rest before the embattled heights of Missionary 
 Ridge, and there with dauntless courage you 
 breasted again the enemy's destructive fire, and 
 shared with your comrades of the Army of the 
 Cumberland the glories of a victory, than which 
 no soldier can boast a prouder. 
 
 "In that unexampled campaign of vigilant and 
 vigorous warfare from Chattanooga to Atlanta,
 
 280 I UK OF IAMFS <;. r.i AINE. 
 
 you freshened your laurels at Resaco, grappling 
 with the enemy behind his works, hurling him 
 back dismayed and broken. 
 
 " Pursuing him from thence, marking your path 
 with the graves of the fallen, you again triumphed 
 over superior numbers at Dallas, fighting your 
 way from there to Kenesaw Mountain, and under 
 the murderous artillery that frowned from its rug- 
 ged heights, with a tenacity and constancy that 
 finds few parallels, you labored, fought and suf- 
 fered through the broiling rays of a Southern 
 mid-summer sun, until at last you planted your 
 colors upon its topmost heights. 
 
 "Again, on the 22d of July, 1864, rendered 
 memorable through all time for the terrible strug- 
 gle you so heroically maintained under discour- 
 aging disasters, and that saddest of all reflections, 
 the loss of that exemplary soldier and popular 
 leader, the lamented McPherson, your matchless 
 courage turned defeat into a glorious victory. 
 Ezra Chapel and Jonesboro, added new lustre to a 
 radiant record, the latter unbarring to you the 
 proud gate city of the South. 
 
 "The daring of a desperate foe in thrusting his 
 legions northward, exposed the country in your 
 front, and though rivers, swamps and enemies 
 opposed, you boldly surmounted every obstacle, 
 beat down all opposition and marched onward to 
 the sea. Without any act to dim the brightness 
 of your historic page, the world rang plaudits
 
 MR. ELAINE'S ASSOCIATE. 281 
 
 when your labors and struggles culminated at 
 Savannah, and the old ' Starry Banner' waved 
 once more over the walls of one of our proudest 
 cities of the seaboard. Scarce a breathing spell 
 had passed when your colors faded from the coast, 
 and your columns plunged into the swamps of the 
 Carolinas. The sufferings you endured, the labors 
 you performed and the successes you achieved in 
 those morasses, deemed impassable, forms a cred- 
 itable episode in the history of the war. Poca- 
 taligo, Charleston, and Raleigh, Salkahatchie, 
 Edisto, Branchville, Orangeburgh, Columbia and 
 Bentonville, are names that will ever be suggestive 
 of the resistless sweep of your columns throcgh 
 the territory that cradled and nurtured, from 
 whence was sent forth on its mission of crime, 
 misery and bloodshed, the disturbing and disor- 
 ganizing spirit of secession and rebellion. 
 
 "The work for which you pledged your brave 
 hearts and brawny arms to the Government of 
 your fathers, you have nobly performed. You are 
 seen in the past gathering in the darkness that 
 enveloped the land, rallying as the guardians of 
 man's proudest heritage, forgetting the thread 
 unwoven in the loom, quitting the anvil and aban- 
 doning the work-shops to vindicate the supremacy 
 of the laws and the authority of the Constitution. 
 Four years have you struggled in the bloodiest 
 and most destructive war that ever drenched the 
 earth with human gore ; step by step you have
 
 282 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 borne our standard, until to-day over every fort- 
 ress and arsenal that rebellion wrenched from us, 
 and over city, town and hamlet from the lakes- to 
 the gulf, and from ocean to ocean, proudly floats 
 the 'Starry Emblem' of our National unity and 
 strength. 
 
 "Your rewards, my comrades, are the welcoming 
 plaudits of a grateful people, the consciousness 
 that in saving the republic, you have won for your 
 country renewed respect and power at home and 
 abroad, that in the unexampled era of our growth 
 and prosperity that dawns with peace, their attaches 
 mightier wealth of pride and glory than ever before 
 to that loved boast, ' / am an American citizen' 
 
 "In relinquishing the implements of war, for 
 those of peace, let your conduct ever be that of 
 warriors in time of war, and peaceful citizens in 
 the time of peace. Let not the lustre of that 
 bright name that you have won as soldiers be 
 dimmed by any improper act as citizens, but as 
 time rolls on let your record grow brighter and 
 brighter still. 
 
 " JOHN A. LOGAN, 
 
 " Major- General, Commanding. 
 
 "LOUISVILLE, KY., July I3th, 1865." 
 
 A man who can review such a record, and who 
 did his full soldierly share in it all, is a fit asso- 
 ciate for him whose biography has here been 
 sketched the Hon. James Gillespie Elaine.
 
 RKCORD 
 
 Chicago, June 3-6, 1884. 
 
 283
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 CHICAGO is never a quiet place, nor does 
 excessive modesty mark the average resident of 
 that goodly city, but the early days of June, 
 1884, saw it a busier city than usual, its streets 
 swarmed with men headed by bands of music, and 
 not overwhelmed with a modest or retiring spirit. 
 An observer of these scenes said : "The crowds 
 are great and noisy, the bands are numerous 
 and brassy, as are other blowers of human 
 kind." 
 
 On Monday there was an atmospheric tempest, 
 with rain and hail, thunder and lightning, but it 
 was a mere ripple compared to that which raged 
 about the Palmer House, where rumor said a 
 dicker had been made which turned an instructed 
 and pledged delegation into channels other than 
 that fore-ordained for them. There were other 
 storm-centres developed where the thunders of 
 profanity rolled, and where wit and logic flashed, 
 but the peace was kept in a general way, and 
 preparations went on vigorously for the great 
 meeting of Tuesday. 
 
 285
 
 286 Tin: 
 
 During all of Saturday night and Sunday an 
 army of carpenters, gas fitters and decorators 
 had toiled in the work of remodeling the great 
 hall to meet the requirements of the approaching 
 Convention. The first five rows of seats in the 
 centre and seven on either side were taken out, 
 leaving a space of thirty feet between the stage 
 and that portion of the hall reserved for the dele- 
 gates. In this space rows of tables to accommo- 
 date three hundred working members of the press 
 were placed. The stage and rafters of the build- 
 ing were gaily decorated with flags and bunting, 
 and from the galleries, which run in a semi-circle 
 around the hall, the arms of each State and Ter- 
 ritory were hung. The hall will accommodate 
 about 9000 persons. 
 
 Members of the National Committee spent the 
 greater portion of Sunday superintending these 
 changes, all of which were completed by Monday 
 noon. 
 
 All the delegations were officially requested to 
 be prepared to report to the Convention, upon its 
 temporary organization on Tuesday, their officers 
 and committee-men, and that the names of the 
 State and Territorial delegations be sent to the 
 National Committee before the Convention meets. 
 
 These precautions went far toward simplify- 
 ing the act of getting to work on the opening 
 day. Affairs were in charge of the National 
 Republican Committee, DWIGHT M. SABIN, Min-
 
 THE CONVENTION. 287 
 
 nesota, Chairman ; JOHN A. MARTIN, Kansas, 
 Secretary. 
 
 The scene at the place of meeting on the morning 
 of June 3d was full of interest. It is known tech- 
 nically as Exposition Building, and stands on 
 Michigan avenue, where a degree of freshness of 
 the better sort manifests itself. In front of the 
 building assembled at an early hour at least ten 
 thousand eager, restless and pushing people. 
 They were confronted by a series of doors, labelled, 
 numbered, lettered and policed. Committee intel- 
 ligence pointed one and all to their respective 
 places of entrance, but nobody appeared to know 
 what to do. Consequently they pushed, screamed 
 and yelled. There was some ill-nature, but it was 
 an American crowd, after all, and by eleven o'clock 
 their was a great assemblage in the immensely 
 large hall, where not more than a fifth can hear 
 more than a tenth of the words of wit or wisdom. 
 
 There is a huge platform, in the fore front of 
 which is the chairman's desk, draped with flags, 
 decorated with a huge basket of flowers and made 
 typical by an immense gilt eagle in front. On either 
 side are tables, for secretaries and officers. Back 
 of these, in tiers, are ladies in quantities and men 
 of note by the bushel. Immediately in front of 
 the platform on two tiers of platforms are tables, 
 occupied by newspaper men of all sorts and con- 
 ditions. This, by the way, is a curious phase of 
 ink. Some journals of no great circulation or
 
 288 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 influence have five or six men, while the largest 
 metropolitan papers are content with two. 
 
 The hall itself is divided into three sections. 
 First, the body looks like an entire acre of heads, 
 occupied by delegates, about whom are rows of 
 private boxes, occupied by ladies and guests ; 
 second, by a gallery of raised seats at the end 
 opposite the platform, and then two long stretches 
 of galleries. Into this vast space pour the people 
 pell-mell and higgly-piggedly delegates, alter- 
 nates, guests and all sorts. .The band played all 
 manner of pieces while the crowds came in. 
 
 Among the members of the United States 
 Senate present at the opening were Senators 
 Aldrich, of Rhode Island ; Blair, of New Hamp- 
 shire ; Hoar, of Massachusetts ; Platt, of Con- 
 necticut ; Miller, of New York ; Miller, of Cali- 
 fornia ; Sewell, of New Jersey ; Mahone, of Vir- 
 ginia ; Palmer, of Michigan ; Conger, of Michi- 
 gan ; Harrison, of Indiana ; Cullom, of Illinois ; 
 Sabin, of Minnesota ; Plumb, of Kansas ; Man- 
 derson, of Nebraska ; Bowen, of Colorado ; 
 Dolph, of Oregon, and Jones, of Nevada ; and 
 among the representatives in Congress, Messrs. 
 Boutelle, Millikan and Dingley, of Maine ; Stew- 
 art, of Vermont ; Long and Rice, of Massachu- 
 setts ; Skinner, Burleigh and \Vadsworth, of New 
 York ; William Walter Phelps, of New Jersey ; 
 Baynet and Bingham, of Pennsylvania; -Halton 
 of Maryland; Libby, of Virginia; O'Hara, of
 
 THE CONVENTION. 29! 
 
 North Carolina ; Mills, of South Carolina ; Jef- 
 fards, of Mississippi ; Kellogg, of Louisiana ; 
 Houk and Pettibone, of Tennessee ; Ochiltree, of 
 Texas ; McKinley, Robinson and Hart, of Ohio ; 
 Calkins, Browne, Peele and Steele, of Indiana ; 
 Thomas, Davis and Adams, of Illinois ; Wash- 
 burne, of Minnesota ; Hoar, of Michigan ; An- 
 derson and Morrell, of Kansas and Valentine, of 
 Nebraska. Generals, colonels and governors 
 were as thick as flies in pea time, and old stagers 
 were multitudinous, one of them being black Fred 
 Douglass, with white hair and a white wife. 
 
 Soon after the hour of noon, Senator Sabirr, 
 Chairman of the National Committee, called the 
 Convention to order by three raps of the gavel, 
 and introduced the Rev. Frank Bristor, of Chi- 
 cago, who opened the proceedings with prayer. 
 Senator Sabin then delivered his opening address, 
 in which he said that Chicago was known as Con- 
 vention City. It was the field of Republican vic- 
 tory. Here it was that that immortal patriot, 
 Abraham Lincoln, was chosen ; here the party 
 chose that great chieftain, General Grant ; here it 
 nominated that honored soldier, that great states- 
 man, that representative citizen, James A. Gar- 
 field. [Cheers.] Every action of the party on 
 this historic ground has been followed by victory. 
 Having succeeded against its opponents on all 
 former occasions, it was about to put its house in 
 order for another conflict. As a consequence of
 
 2Q2 THE CoNVKNTIitN. 
 
 a vote adopted by the last Convention, the present 
 body is largely made up of men instructed by 
 their own constituents, and it was therefore to be 
 hoped that the voice of the people would be 
 largely puissant in its deliberations. [Applause.] 
 
 Mr. Sabin concluded by nominating Hon. 
 Powell Clayton, of Arkansas, for Chairman pro 
 ton., but the Convention, by a vote of -431 to 387, 
 chose to this post the Hon. John R. Lynch, of 
 Mississippi, an act which indicated that the spirit 
 of independent action was abroad in the Conven- 
 tion. After considerable discussion on minor 
 matters, and the settlement of some preliminary 
 business, the great body adjourned for the day, 
 all its members seemingly at sea as to the coming 
 nominees. 
 
 Soon after eleven o'clock on Wednesday, June 
 4th, the Convention reassembled, Chairman 
 Lynch presiding. At once the scene became 
 animated with the multitude of communications, 
 resolutions, and similar offerings which were 
 thrust before the House, only to be referred right 
 and left to the various committees. After con- 
 siderable discussion and oratory, the Committee 
 on Permanent Organization reported, recommend- 
 ing as Permanent Chairman, General J. B. Hend- 
 erson, of Missouri, who, upon taking his post, 
 made the regulation speech of thanks, distributing 
 his complimentary words on all sides, and to all 
 the possible candidates for the honors of the Con-
 
 THE CONVENTION. 293 
 
 vention. More resolutions, on all manner of 
 topics, were received and referred, and so the 
 work of the day closed, the main committees not 
 being ready to make their reports. 
 
 Little was accomplished in this day's work, so 
 far as appeared on surface, but one of the keenest 
 and most experienced of the observers on the 
 floor summed up the situation at the close, thus : 
 "The situation, as it stands to-night, is simple 
 enough. Elaine is stronger than any individual 
 candidate. But the field is stronger than he. 
 His friends will stand together, and when the field 
 undertakes to make combinations, it is more than 
 likely enough, votes will slip through their fingers 
 to give the needed help to Elaine. Kansas will 
 probably give him eighteen instead of thirteen, 
 and every gain of five votes counts ; and Ohio is 
 wavering, so far as John Sherman is concerned. 
 It may not be palatable, but two and two must 
 make four, and if the problem had to be solved 
 to-night, Elaine would be the nominee." 
 
 Early in the proceedings the name of General 
 W. T. Sherman was much mentioned in connec- 
 tion with the first nomination, but the old warrior 
 routed this combination by a telegraphic bomb to 
 this effect : 
 
 " I would not accept the nomination if tendered 
 me. I would not serve if I was elected. 
 
 "W. T. SHERMAN." 
 is
 
 294 THE CONVENTION. 
 
 The meetings of Thursday opened at 10.54 
 A. M., Bishop Fallows, of the Reformed Episco- 
 cal Church, leading in prayer, after which a 
 unanimous report from the Committee on Cre- 
 dentials was read and adopted. Rules of order 
 were then adopted, somewhat modifying the 
 former methods of procedure, and the platform 
 was presented and approved amid great applause. 
 An adjournment was then voted until 7.30 P. M., 
 when nominations of candidates were to be 
 made as the special order of business, the pre- 
 liminaries now having been completed.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 So often is the question asked as to the mem- 
 bers of the great Conventions, and so seldom are 
 accurate lists of delegates to be had, that the per- 
 sonelle of the body in full and in detail is here 
 
 added. 
 
 ALABAMA. 
 
 At-Large. George Turner, Montgomery. 
 
 George W. Braxdall, Talladega. 
 Charles C. Sheats, Decatur. 
 Jesse C. Duke, Selma. 
 
 Districts. I. James E. Slaughter, Mobile. 
 Frank H. Threet, Demopolis. 
 
 2. Paul Strobach, Montgomery. 
 George W. Washington, Montgomery. 
 
 3. Isaac Heymad, Opelika. 
 
 William Youngblood, Union Springs. 
 
 4. William J. Stevens, Selma. 
 Hugh A. Corson, Haynesville. 
 
 5. Lewis E. Parsons, Jr., Rockford. 
 William J. Anthony, La Fayette. 
 
 6. Algernon A. Mabson, Birmingham. 
 Lewis J. Washington, Tuscaloosa. 
 
 7. Robert A. Moseley, Jr. Talladega. 
 Arthur Bingham, Talladega. 
 
 8. Augustus W. McCullough, Huntsville. 
 Peter J. Crenshaw, Athens. 
 
 295
 
 296 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 ARKANSAS. 
 
 At-Large. Powell Clayton, Eureka Springs. 
 
 Logan H. Roots, Little Rock. 
 
 M. W. Gibbs, Little Rock. 
 
 Henry M. Cooper, Little Lock. 
 Districts, i . Jacob Trieber, Helena. 
 
 Samuel H. Holland, Dermott 
 
 2. John H. Johnson, Augusta. 
 Ferd Harris, Pine Bluff. 
 
 3. A. A. Tufts, Camden. 
 
 George H. Thompson, Louisville. 
 
 4. Mason W. Benjamin, Little Rock. 
 John Yoes, Mountainburg. 
 
 5. La Fayette Gregg, Fayetteville. 
 Kidder Kidd, BentonvilU. 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
 At-Large. William W. Morrow, San Francisco. 
 
 George A. Knight, Eureka. 
 
 Thomas R. Bard, Huenma. 
 
 Horace Davis, San Francisco. 
 Districts. I. Chauncey C. Bash, Redding. 
 B. O. Carr, St. Helena. 
 
 2. William H. Parks, Marysville. 
 George W. Schell, Modesto. 
 
 3. William Johnson, Sacramento. 
 Eli S. Dennison, Oakland. 
 
 4. David McClure, San Francisco. 
 Charles F. Crocker, San Francisco. 
 
 5. Adolph B. Spreckels, San Francisco. 
 Maurice C. Blake, San Francisco. 
 
 6. David C. Reed, San Diego. 
 Oregon Saunders, Visalia. 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 
 At-Large. Augustus Brandegee, New London. 
 Frederick Miles, Chapinville. 
 Samuel E. Merwin, Jr., New Haven. 
 John L. Houston, Thompsonville.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 297 
 
 Districts. I. Val. B. Chamberlain, New Britain. 
 Ralph P. Gilbert, Hebron. 
 
 2. Luzerne I. Munson, Waterbury. 
 John G. Edmonds, Deep River. 
 
 3. Eugene S. Boss, Willimantic. 
 Ira G. Briggs, Voluntown. 
 
 4. Orsamus R. Filer, Torrington. 
 Ebenezer J. Hill, Norwalk. 
 
 COLORADO. 
 
 At- Large. S. H. Elbert, Denver. 
 
 B. F. Crowell, Colorado Springs. 
 William A. Hammill, Georgetown. 
 
 C. C. Davis, Leadville. 
 
 A. L. Emigh, Fort Collins. 
 Alexander Gullet, Gunnison. 
 
 DELAWARE. 
 
 At-Large. Washington Hastings, Wilmington. 
 John Pilling, Newark. 
 George V. Massey, Dover. 
 Daniel I. Layton, Georgetown. 
 
 District. I. John H. Hoffecker, Smyrna. 
 W. J. Stewart, Seaford. 
 
 FLORIDA. 
 
 At-Large. Dennis Eagan, Jacksonville. 
 Joseph E. Lee, Jacksonville. 
 Jesse D. Cole, Monticello. 
 William G. Stewart, Tallahassee. 
 
 Districts. I. James N. Coombs, Apalachicola. 
 
 A. C. Lightborne, Quincy. 
 2. W. H. Chandler, Ocala. 
 John G. Long, St. Augustine. 
 
 * GEORGIA. 
 
 At-Large. A. E. Buck, Atlanta. 
 
 W. A. Pledger, Atlanta.
 
 298 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 At- Large. L. M. Pleasants, Savannah. 
 C. D. Forsythe. Rome. 
 
 Districts, i. A. N. Wilson, Savannah. 
 James Blue, Brunswick. 
 
 2. C. W. Arnold, Albany. 
 Caesar Few, Thomasville. 
 
 3. Elbert Head, Americus. 
 
 E. Seward Small, Eastman. 
 
 4. W. H. Johnson, Atlanta. 
 J. C. Beall, La Grange. 
 
 5. John E. Bryant, Atlanta. 
 W. D. Moore, Atlanta. 
 
 6. W. W. Brown, Macon.. 
 P. O. Holt, Macon. 
 
 7. G. P. Burnett, Rome. 
 
 J. Q. Gassett, Cartersville. 
 
 8. Mark A. Wood, Madison. 
 Madison Davis, Athens. 
 
 9. W. T. B. Wilson, Atlanta. 
 James B. Gaston, Gainesville. 
 
 10. W. F. Holden, Augusta. 
 R. R. Wright, Augusta. 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 At- Large. Shelby M. Cullom, Springfield. 
 John M. Hamilton, Bloomington 
 Burton C. Cook, Chicago. 
 Clarke E. Carr, Galesburg. 
 
 Districts, i. J. L. Woodward, Chicago. 
 Abner Taylor, Chicago. 
 
 2. W. H. Ruger, Chicago. 
 C. E. Piper, Chicago. 
 
 Contestants. W. S. Powell, Chicago. 
 W. E. Kent, Chicago. 
 
 3. George R. Davis, Chicago. 
 J. R. Wheeler, Chicago. 
 
 4. Samuel B. Raymond, Chicago. 
 L. C. Collins, Jr., Norwood Park.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 299 
 
 S)istiv*s. 5. L. M. Kelly, Elgin. 
 
 C. E. Fuller, Belvidere. 
 
 6. Norman Lewis, Thomson. 
 O. C. Town, Pecatonica. 
 
 7. I. G. Baldwin, Yorkville. 
 Henry T. Noble, Dixon. 
 
 8. R. W. Willett, Yorkville. 
 A. J. Bell, Napierville. 
 
 9. S. T. Rogers, El Paso. 
 Thomas Vennum, Watseka. 
 
 10. W. W. Wright, Toulon. 
 R. H. Whiting, Peoria. 
 
 11. C. V. Chandler, Macomb. 
 C. A. Ballard, New Boston. 
 
 12. A. C. Mathews, Pittsfield. 
 W. W. Berry, Quincy. 
 
 13. Dr. William Jayne, Springfield. 
 Dietrich C. Smith, Pekin. 
 
 14. J. W. Fifer, Bloomington. 
 
 George G. Ingham, Clinton. , 
 
 15. Charles G. Eckhart, Tuscola. 
 L. S. Wilcox, Champaign. 
 
 16. Charles Churchill, Albion. 
 Harrison Black, Marshall. 
 
 17. John I. Rinaker, Carlinville. 
 J. M. Truitt, Hillsboro. 
 
 18. R. A. Halbert, Belleville. 
 H. F. Reuter, Nashville. 
 
 19. T. S. Ridgway> Shawneetown. 
 C. T. Stratton, Mt. Vernon. 
 
 ao. F. M. Simpson, Vienna. 
 
 William McAdams, Chester. 
 
 INDIANA. 
 
 At-Large. Richard W. Thompson, Terre Haute. 
 Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis. 
 John H. Baker, Goshen. 
 Morris McDonald, New Albany.
 
 3OO PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts. I. James C. Veatch, Rockport. 
 Francis B. Posey, Petersburg. 
 
 2. George C. Reilly, Vincennes. 
 William R. Gardner, Washington. 
 
 3. D. M. Alspaugh, Salem. 
 Albert P. Charles, Seymour. 
 
 4. John O. Cravens, Osgood. 
 Eugene G. Hay, Madison. 
 
 5. Joseph I. Irwin, Columbus. 
 W. A. Montgomery, Spencer. 
 
 6. Charles H. Burchenal, Richmond. 
 Joshua H. Mellett, New Castle. 
 
 7. L. T. Michener, Shelbyville. 
 Henry C. Adams, Indianapolis. 
 
 8. William C. Smith, Williamsport. 
 William R. McKeen, Terre Haute. 
 
 9. George B. Williams, La Fayette. 
 Americus C. Dailey, Lebanon. 
 
 10. Simon P. Thompson, Rensselaer. 
 George W. Holman, Rochester. 
 
 11. James B. Kenner, Huntington. 
 Jonas Votaw, Portland. 
 
 12. Oscar S. Simons, Fort Wayne. 
 Orville Carter, Angola. 
 
 13. Joseph D. Oliver, South Bend, 
 George Moon, Warsaw. 
 
 IOWA. 
 
 At- Large. J. S. Clarkson, DCS Moines. 
 
 W. G. Dorman, Independence. 
 
 J. Y. Stone, Glenwood. 
 
 N. M. Hubbard, Cedar Rapids. 
 
 Districts. I. D. A. Morrison, Fort Madison. 
 
 William Wilson, Jr., Washington. 
 
 2. John Hilsinger, Sabula. 
 W. T. Shaw, Anamosa. 
 
 3. H. C. Memenway, Cedar Falls. 
 W. H. Norris, Manchester.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 30 1 
 
 Districts. 4. A. G. Stewart, Waukon. 
 O. H. Lyon, Rockford. 
 
 5. J. W. Willett, Tama City. 
 Merritt Green, Marshalltown. 
 
 6. H. S. Winslow, Newton, 
 Calvin Manning, Ottumwa. 
 
 7. C. H. Gatch, Des Moines. 
 
 E. W. Meeks, Guthrie Centre. 
 
 8. W. H. Christie, Chester. 
 W. W. Wilson, Osceola. 
 
 9. E. A. Consigny, Avoca. 
 T. M. C. Logan, Logan. 
 
 10. R. S. Benson, Hampton. 
 C. C. Mason, Boone. 
 
 11. J. B. Funk, Spirit Lake. 
 J. D. Ainsworth, Oran. 
 
 KANSAS. 
 
 At-Large. P. B. Plumb, Washington, D. C. 
 
 J. B. Merritt, Wamego. 
 
 J. A. Wood, Wellington. 
 
 A. W. Mann, Jewell City. 
 Districts, i. H. E. Insley, Leavenworth. 
 C. Leland, Troy. 
 
 2. R. Aikman, Fort Scott. 
 J. B. Root, Wyandotte. 
 
 3. George R. Peck, Topeka. 
 William Martindale, Madison. 
 
 4. J. W. Addy, Newton. 
 
 A. J. Hoisington, Great Bend. 
 
 5. C. E. Culp, Salina, 
 
 E. A. Berry, Marysville. 
 
 6. J. R. Hallowell, Columbus. 
 W. P. Hackney, Winfield. 
 
 7. J. S. McDowell, Smith Centre. 
 C. C. Woods, Rooks Centre. 
 
 KENTUCKY. 
 
 At-Large. Walter Evans, Washington, D. C. 
 William O. Bradley, Lancaster.
 
 3O2 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION, 
 
 At- Large. William W. Culberson, Ashland. 
 John W. Lewis. Springfield. 
 
 Districts, i. Edwin Farley, Owensborough. 
 P. C. Bragg, Mayfield. 
 
 2. J. Z. Moore, Owensborough. 
 James J. Landis, Hopkinsville. 
 
 3. W. L. Hazslip, Glasgow Junction. 
 Allen Allensworth, Bowling Green. 
 
 4. G. P. Jolly, Cloverport. 
 Edward Hilpp, Lebanon. 
 
 5. Silas F. Miller, Louisville. 
 John Mason Brown, Louisville. 
 
 6. Davie N. Comingove, Covington. 
 James A. Scarlett, Newport. 
 
 7. William Cassius Goodloe, Lexington. 
 Richard P. Stoll, Lexington. 
 
 8. Robert Boyd, London. 
 George Denny, Jr., Lancaster. 
 
 9. George M. Thomas, Vanceburg. 
 T. S. Bradford, Augusta. 
 
 10. Andrew J. Auxier, Louisville. 
 
 J. C. Eversole, Hazard. 
 n. R. A. Buckner, Greensburg. 
 
 H. G. Tremble, Somerset. 
 
 LOUISIANA. 
 
 At-Large. William P. Kellogg, Washington. 
 A. J. Dumont, New Orleans. 
 P. B. S. Pinchback, New Orleans. 
 A. S. Badger, New Orleans. 
 
 Districts, i . W. B. Merchant, New Orleans. 
 R. F. Guichard, New Orleans. 
 
 2. P. F. Heonig, New Orleans. 
 Henry Demas, Edgar. 
 
 3. George Drury, Napoleonville. 
 L. A. Martinet, St. Martin. 
 
 4. A. H. Leonard, Shreveport. 
 William Harper, Shreveport.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts. 5. Frank Morey, Washington. 
 
 E. W. Wall, Vidalia. 
 6. Louis J. Souer, Marksville. 
 Clifford Morgan, New Roads. 
 
 MAINE. 
 
 At- Large. Josiah H. Drummond, Portland. 
 
 George C. Wing, Auburn. 
 
 Joseph R. Bodwell, Hallowell. 
 
 Joseph S. Wheelwright, Bangor. 
 Districts, i. Albion Little, Portland. 
 
 Charles B. Hussey, Biddeford. 
 
 2. Amos F. Crockett, Rockland. 
 Ruel B. Fuller, East Wilton. 
 
 3. J. Manchester Haynes, Augusta. 
 Andrew J. Wiswell, Augusta. 
 
 4. Austin Harris, East Machias. 
 Elbridge A. Thompson, Dover. 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 At-Large. Hart B. Holton, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Thomas S. Hodson, Crisfield. 
 
 Lycurgus N. Phillips, Mechanicstown. 
 
 James Wallace, Cambridge. 
 Districts. I. Charles T. Westcott, Chestertown. 
 James C. Mulliken, Easton. 
 
 2. John T. Ensor, Towson. 
 
 H. M. Clabaugh, Westminster. 
 
 3. D. Pinkney West, Baltimore. 
 William Coath, Baltimore. 
 
 4. James W. Jordan, Baltimore. 
 Henry W. Rogers, Baltimore. 
 
 Contestants. Lewis G. Martin, Baltimore. 
 W. C. Clay, Baltimore. 
 
 5. James A. Gary, Baltimore. 
 
 William D. Green, Washington, D. C. 
 
 6. J. McPherson Scott, Hagerstown. 
 George L. Wellington, Cumberland. 
 
 303
 
 304 I'ERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 At-Large. George F. Hoar, Worcester. 
 
 William W. Crapo, New Bedford. 
 John D. Long, Hingham. 
 Henry Cabot Lodge, Nahant. 
 
 
 
 Districts. I. Jonathan Bourne, New Bedford. 
 Frank S. Stevens, Swansea. 
 
 2. Frank* M. Ames, Canton. 
 Eben L. Ripley, Hingham. 
 
 3. Henry P. Kidder, Boston. 
 Edward L. Pierce, Milton. 
 
 4. Jesse M. Gove, Boston. 
 Charles T. Gallagher, Boston. 
 
 5. Ephraim Stearnes, Waltham. 
 John T. Andrew, Boston. 
 
 6. Amos F. Breed, Lynn. 
 Carroll D. Wright, Reading. 
 
 7. Edward H. Haskell, Gloucester. 
 George W. Gate, Amesbury. 
 
 8. Frederick T. Greenhalge, Lowell. 
 Andrew C. Stone, Lawrence. 
 
 9. Joseph G. Ray, Lawrence. 
 Robert R. Bishop, Newton. 
 
 10. William W. Rice, Worcester. 
 Theodore C. Bates, North Brookfield. 
 
 11. Chester C. Conant, Greenfield. 
 Rodney Wallace, Fitchburg. 
 
 12. Henry S. Hyde, Springfield. 
 Levi L. Brown, Adams. 
 
 MICHIGAN. 
 
 At-Large. Roswell G. Horr, Saginaw. 
 
 William F. Swift, Ishpeming. 
 Samuel C. Watson, Detroit. 
 Julius C. Burrows, Kalamazoo. 
 
 Districts, i. Russell A. Alger, Detroit. 
 W. S. Morey, Flat Rock.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 305 
 
 Districts. 2. W. A. Underwood, Adrian. 
 
 Joseph T. Jacobs, Ann Arbor. 
 
 3. Edward C. Nichols, Battle Creek. 
 William H. Powers, Hastings. 
 
 4. S. T. Reed, Cassaopolis. 
 Josiah Andrews, Paw Paw. 
 
 5. Geo'rge W. Webber, Ionia. 
 H. F. Thomas, Allegan. 
 
 6. M. D. Chatterton, Mason. 
 J. E. Sawyer, Pontiac. 
 
 7. John B. Sanborn, Port Huron. 
 R. B. Noble, Lexington. 
 
 8. W. S. Tuck, St. Louis. 
 W. E. Watson, Bancroft. 
 
 9. M. P. Gale, Big Rapids. 
 Abel Anderson, Muskegon. 
 
 10. H. H. Alpin, West Bay City. 
 George W. Bell, Cheboygan. 
 
 11. S. C. Moffatt, Grand Traverse. 
 S. M. Stevenson, Menominee. 
 
 MINNESOTA. 
 
 At-Large. Dwight M. Sabin, Washington. 
 Cushman K. Davis, St. Paul. 
 C. H. Graves, Duluth. 
 O. B. Gould, Winona. 
 
 Districts, i. Thomas H. Armstrong, Albert Lea. 
 C. H. Conky, Preston. 
 
 2. A. M. Crosby, Adrian. 
 L. Z. Rogers, Waterville. 
 
 3. E. V. Canfield, Zumbrota. 
 Liberty Hall, Glencoe. 
 
 4. Robert B. Langdon, Minneapolis. 
 Stanford Newell, St. Paul. 
 
 5. Alphonso Barto, Sauk Centre. 
 Henry G. Page, Fergus Falls. 
 
 Contestants, }. V. Brower. 
 
 G. W. Johnson.
 
 306 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 At-Large. Blanche K. Bruce, Washington, D. C. 
 James Hill, Jackson. 
 R. F. Beck, Vicksburg. 
 
 J. M. Bynum, Rienzi. 
 
 
 
 Districts, i. H. C. Powers, Starkville. 
 
 W. H. Kennon, Columbus. 
 
 2. John S. Burton, Holly Springs. 
 D. T. J. Matthews, Sardis. 
 
 3. W. H. Allen, Friar's Point. 
 Wesley Creighton, Vicksburg. 
 
 4. H. H. Harrington, West Point. 
 J. W. Longstreet, Macon. 
 
 5. F. C. Cranberry, Lexington. 
 William W. Hancock, Meridian. 
 
 6. John R. Lynch, Natchez. 
 C. A. Simpson, Scranton. 
 
 7. Thomas Richardson, Port Gibson. 
 John A. Galbreath, Jackson. 
 
 MISSOURI. 
 
 At-Large. Robert T. Van Horn, Kansas City. 
 Harrison E. Havens, Springfield. 
 Benjamin M. Prentiss, Bethany. 
 John B. Henderson, St. Louis. 
 
 Districts. I. Robert D. Creamer, Memphis. 
 James T. Barber, Hannibal. 
 
 2. Joseph H. Turner, Carrollton. 
 Alexander W. Mullens, Linneus. 
 
 3. Ira B. Hyde, Princeton. 
 James H. Thomas, Plattsburg. 
 
 4. Q. C. Hill, Oregon. 
 
 A. C. Daws, St. Joseph. 
 
 5. William Warner, Kansas City. 
 John B. Jones, Aullville. 
 
 6. Odon Guitar, Columbia. 
 William S, Shirk, Sedalia.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 307 
 
 Districts. 7. M. J. Reynolds, Louisiana. 
 
 Theodore Brewer, St. Charles. 
 
 8. Henry C. Neyer, St. Louis. 
 John C. Bensick, St. Louis. 
 
 9. Chauncey I. Filley, St. Louis. 
 James H. McLean, St. Louis. 
 
 10. Frederick W. Mott, St. Louis. 
 
 Kossuth W. Weber, Farmington. 
 n. Eben B. Sankey, Salem. 
 
 Edward Neuenhahn, Harrman. 
 
 12. Charles G. Burton, Nevada. 
 William D. Tyler, Clinton. 
 
 13. Joseph B. Upton, Bolivar. 
 Norman Gibbs, Mt. Vernon. 
 
 14. Alonzo B. Carroll, Cape Girardeau. 
 Byrd Dunkling, Poplar Bluffs. 
 
 NEBRASKA. 
 
 At-Large. John M. Thurston, Omaha. 
 
 Nathan S. Harwood, Lincoln. 
 
 John Jenson, Geneva. 
 
 George A. Brooks, Bazile Mills. 
 
 Districts, i . Eugene L. Reed, Weeping Water. 
 Church Howe, Auburn. 
 
 2. William T. Scott, York. 
 George W. Burton, Orleans. 
 
 3. Charles P. Mathewson, Norfolk. 
 John H. McCall, Plum Creek. 
 
 NEVADA. 
 
 At-Large. C. C. Stevenson, Gold Hill. 
 M. D. Foley, Eureka. 
 J. H. Rand, Elko. 
 John E. Dixon, Tuscarora. 
 S. L. Lee, Carson City. 
 C. J, Blair, Pioche.
 
 308 PEKSn.NKLLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 At-Large. Charles H. Sawyer, Dover. 
 
 George H. Stowell, Claremont. 
 Edward H. Rollins, Concord. 
 Joseph B. Clark, Manchester. 
 
 Districts, i. Charles D. McDuffie, Manchester. 
 
 Warren Brown, Hampton Falls. 
 2. Frank D. Currier, Canaan. 
 Henry B. Atherton, Nashua. 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 
 At-Large. William Walter Phelps, Teaneck. 
 William J. Sewell, Camden. 
 John J. Gardiner, Atlantic City. 
 J. Frank Fort, Newark. 
 
 Districts. I Isaac T. Nichols, Bridgeton. 
 
 Thomas B. Harned, Camden. 
 
 2. William H. Skein, Trenton. 
 Maylon Hutchinson, Bordentown. 
 
 3. John W. Herbert, Wickatunk. 
 James R. English, Elizabeth. 
 
 4. John I. Blair, Blairstown. 
 William H. Long, Somerville. 
 
 5. William H. Howell, Morristown. 
 Watts Cook, Paterson. 
 
 6. Herman Lehback, Newark. 
 William Riker, Newark. 
 
 7. James Gopsill, Jersey City. 
 John Ramsey, Jersey City. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 At-Large. Theodore Roosevelt, New York. 
 Andrew D. White, Ithaca. 
 John I. Gilbert, Malone. 
 Edwin Packard, Brooklyn.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 309 
 
 Districts, i. George William Curtis, West New Brighton. 
 John M. Crane, Jamaica. 
 
 2. E. H. Hobbs, 1 10 Kingston avenue, Brooklyn. 
 S. B. Butcher, Brooklyn. 
 
 3. A. D. Baird, cor. Myrtle ave and Keap st., Brooklyn 
 G. L. Pease, 325 Clinton avenue, Brooklyn. 
 
 4. W. H. Beard, 287 President street, Brooklyn. 
 M. N. Day, 62 Hanson place, Brooklyn. 
 
 5. C. D. Rhinehart, 179 Meserole avenue, Brooklyn. 
 G. C. Rennett, 16 Magnolia street, Brooklyn. 
 
 6. John J. O'Brien, 120 Forsyth street, New York. 
 John H. Brady, 39 King street, New York. 
 
 Contestants. George B. Deane, Sr., New York. 
 Frederick S. Gibbs, New York. 
 
 7. J. D. Lawson, Brevoort House, New York. 
 Charles N. Taintor, 135 E. i8th street, New York. 
 
 8. Robert G. McCord, 45 W. 22d street, New York. 
 John Collins, 135 Henry street, New York. 
 
 9. J. M. Patterson, 152 Stanton street, New York. 
 George Hilliard, 741 Fifth street, New York. 
 
 10. B. Biglin, 341 Lexington avenue, New York. 
 
 Michael Cregan, Ashland House, New York. 
 n. Anson G. McCook, Washington, D. C. 
 
 J. R. Lydecker, 309 W. 33d street, New York. 
 
 12. E. Stevenson, 215 E. 62d street, New York. 
 William Dowd, 30 W. 52d street, New York. 
 
 13. F. Raymond, 338 E. I2oth street, New York. 
 J. A. Eagleson, 221 E. n8th street, New York. 
 
 14. William H. Robertson, Katonah. 
 James W. Husted, Peekskill. 
 
 15. Benjamin B. Odell, Newburg. 
 David J. Blauvelt, Nyack. 
 
 16. B. Platt Carpenter, Poughkeepsie. 
 Hamilton Fish, Jr., Garrisons. 
 
 17. Thomas Cornell, Rondout. 
 Duncan Ballantine, Andes. 
 
 18. Martin I. Townsend, Troy. 
 H. G. Burleigh, Whitehall. 
 
 19. George Campbell, Cohoes. 
 Hiram Griggs, Knowersville. 
 
 19
 
 3IO PERSONELLE OK Till-: CONVENTION. 
 
 ( 'untcstants. James Lamb, Cohoes. 
 
 James A. Houck, Albany. 
 20. George West, Ballston Spa. 
 
 John Kellogg, Amsterdam. 
 2r John Hammond, Crown Point. 
 
 George Chahoon, Ausable Forks. 
 
 22. Leslie W. Russell, Canton. 
 George A. Bagley, Watertown. 
 
 23. W. E. Scripture, Rome. 
 A. M. Lanpher, Lowville. 
 
 24. Hobart Krum, Schoharie. 
 Titus Sheard, Little Falls. 
 
 25. Carrol E. Smith, Syracuse. 
 Henry L. Duguid, Syracuse. 
 
 26. Thomas C. Platt, Owego. 
 Milton Delano, Canastota. 
 
 27. D. M. Osborne, Auburn. 
 T. A. Youmans, Walworth. 
 
 28. Jeremiah W. Dwight, Dryden. 
 W. L. Smith, Elmira. 
 
 29. George R. Cornwell, Penn Yan. 
 Stephen T. Hoyt, Corning. 
 
 30. Leonard Barrett, Spencerport. 
 H. H. Warner, Rochester. 
 
 31. James W. Wadsworth, Geneseo. 
 Edmund L. Pitts, Medina. 
 
 32. James D. Warren, Buffalo. 
 Josiah Jewett, Buffalo. 
 
 33. George Urban, Jr., Buffalo. 
 Lee R. Sanborn, Sanborn. 
 
 34. Norman M. Allen, Dayton. 
 Frank S. Smith, Angelica. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 At-Large. J. J. Mott, Statesville. 
 
 W. S. Dockery, Mangum. 
 
 J. H. Harris, Raleigh. 
 
 J. E. O'Hara, Washington, D. C.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts, i. J. B. Hill, Raleigh. 
 
 E. A. White, Belvidere. 
 
 2. J. C. Dancey, Raleigh. 
 I. J. Young, Raleigh. 
 
 3. L. \V. Humphrey, Goldsboro. 
 John S. Leary, Fayetteville. 
 
 4. Charles D. Upchurch. Raleigh. 
 John Williamson, Louisburg. 
 
 5. Thomas B. Keogh, Greensboro. 
 P. H. Winslow, Jr., Winston. 
 
 6. W. H. Bynum. 
 
 E. J. Pennybacher. 
 
 Contestants. William S. Dockery. 
 George L. Mabson. 
 
 7. J. J. Mott. 
 
 A. S. Richardson. 
 
 Contestants. H. C. Crowles. 
 
 James Henderson. 
 
 8. W. L. Pearson, Morgantown. 
 L. L. Green, Boone. 
 
 9. John B. Eaves, Rutherfordtown. 
 T. J. Candler, Asheville. 
 
 OHIO. 
 
 At-Large. J. B. Foraker, Cincinnati. 
 
 William McKinley, Jr., Canton. 
 Mark A. Hanna, Cleveland. 
 William H. West, Bellefontaine. 
 
 Districts, i. Benjamin Eggleston, Cincinnati. 
 William B. Smith, Cincinnati. 
 
 2. Amor Smith, Jr:, Cincinnati. 
 Charles Fleishman, Cincinnati. 
 
 3. Henry L. Morey, Hamilton. 
 M. J. W. Holter, Batavia. 
 
 4. S. Craighead, Dayton. 
 A. R. Burkett, Troy.
 
 312 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts. 5. James S. Robinson, Kenton. 
 Joseph Morris, Lima. 
 
 6. Albert M. Pratt, Bryan. 
 J. N. High, Napoleon. 
 
 7. R.' W. McMahon, Bowling Green. 
 W. C. Lemert, Bucyrus. 
 
 8. Oscar T. Martin, Springfield. 
 G. M. Eichelberger, Urbana. 
 
 9. Thomas E. Duncan, Mt. Gilead. 
 John F. Locke, London. 
 
 10. C. L. Luce, Toledo. 
 John B. Rice, Fremont. 
 
 11. Alphonso Hart, Hillsborough. 
 Charles W. Boyd, Levanna. 
 
 12. O. B. Gould, Portsmouth. 
 A. S. Bundy, Wellston. 
 
 13. C. D. Firestone, Columbus. 
 C. E. Groce, Circleville. 
 
 14. William J. Shriver, New Lexington. 
 Austin W. Vorhes, Pomeroy. 
 
 15. H. C. Van Vorhes, Pomeroy. 
 E. L. Lybarger, Coshocton. 
 
 16. E. G. Johnson, Elmyra. 
 W. L. Sewell, Mansfield. 
 
 17. Charles H. Baltzell, Bellaire. 
 M. R. Patterson, Cambridge. 
 
 1 8. C. H. Andrews, Youngstown. 
 William Monaghan, New Lisbon. 
 
 19. E. L. Lampson, Jefferson. 
 J. O. Converse, Chardon. 
 
 20. A. L. Conger, Akron. 
 T. D. Loomis, Lodi. 
 
 21. Edwin Cowles, Cleveland. 
 A. C. Hord, Cleveland. 
 
 OREGON. 
 
 At-Large. Joseph N. Dolph, Washington, D. C. 
 John T. Apperson, Oregon City.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 3IJ 
 
 At-Large. W. J. McConnell, North Yam Hill. 
 John W. Swift, Baker City. 
 A. G. Hovey, Eugene City. 
 O. M. Denny, Portland. 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 At-Large. James McManes, Philadelphia. 
 Hamilton Disston, Philadelphia. 
 P. L. Kimberly, Sharon. 
 J. W. Lee, Franklin. 
 Lewis Emery, Jr. Bradford. 
 W. H. Jessup, Montrose. 
 
 Districts, i. General H. H. Bingham, Philadelphia. 
 William J. Pollock, Philadelphia. 
 
 2. W. R. Leeds, 246 N. roth street, Philadelphia. 
 D. H. Lane, 1400 N. I3th street, Philadelphia. 
 
 3. Samuel B. Gilpin, Philadelphia. 
 
 Harry Hunter, 723 S. I2th street, Philadelphia. 
 
 4. Alex. Crowe, Jr., 2112 Spring Garden St., Phila. 
 W. E. Rowan, 3632 Market street, Philadelphia. 
 
 5. John T. Thompson, 2800 Frankford ave. Phila. 
 John Ruhl, 2242 Frankford Road, Philadelphia. 
 
 6. B. Fisher, Schuylkill. 
 Richard Young, Morton. 
 
 7. Robert M. Yardley, Doylestown. 
 J. P. Hale Jenkins, Norristown. 
 
 8. Samuel R. Deppen, Robesonia Furnaces. 
 F. S. Livengood, Reading. 
 
 9. Edwin Reimhold, Marietta. 
 Lewis S. Hartman, Lancaster. 
 
 10. Samuel Thomas, Catasauqua. 
 William S. Kirkpatrick, Easton. 
 
 11. James Cruikshank, Danville. 
 James C. Brown, Bloomsburg. 
 
 12. Hubbard B. Payne, Wilkesbarre. 
 Henry M. Boies, Scranton.
 
 314 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Disfs. 13. J. A. M. Passmore, Pottsville. 
 
 J. Y. Sollenberger, Mahanoy City 
 
 14. Horace Brock, Lebanon. 
 Jacob H. Wagner, Watsontown. 
 
 15. F. F. Lyon, Barclay. 
 G. A. Grow, Glenwood. 
 
 16. E. G. Schieffelin, Stokesdale. 
 C. W. Hill, Williamsport. 
 
 17. Daniel J. Morrell, Johnstown. 
 Edward Scull, Somerset. 
 
 1 8. John Stewart, Chambersburg. 
 
 S. E. Duffield, McConnellsburg. 
 
 19. William H. Lanius, York. 
 Jacob A. Kintzmiller, Gettysburg. 
 
 20. E. A. Ervin, Curwensville. 
 Thomas C. Thornton, Lewisburg. 
 
 21. J. K. Ewing, Uniontown. 
 John F. Wentling, Greensburg. 
 
 22. C. L. Magee, Pittsburg. 
 William Flynn, Pittsburg. 
 
 23. Thomas M. Bayne, Allegheny City. 
 E. M. Byers, Allegheny City. 
 
 24. E. F.. Acheson, Washington. 
 John W. Wallace, New Castle. 
 
 25. J. B. Henderson, Brookville. 
 H. C. Howard, Indiana. 
 
 26. T. C. Cochran, Sheakleyville. 
 W. H. H. Riddle, Butler. 
 
 27. E. W. Echols, Franklin. 
 Joseph Johnson, Erie. 
 
 RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 At-Large. Gorham P. Pomeroy, Providence. 
 Frank M. Bates, Pawtucket. 
 Ellery H. Wilson, Rumford. 
 Daniel G. Littlefield, Central Falls.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts, i. William A. Steadman, Newport. 
 John C. Barrington, Barrington. 
 2. Thomas C. Peckham, Coventry. 
 Albert L. Chester, Westerly. 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 At-Large. Robert Smalls, Beaufort. 
 W. N. Taft, Charleston. 
 E. M. Bray ton, Columbia. 
 Samuel Lee, Sumter. 
 
 Districts, i. J. M. Freeman, Charleston. 
 E. H. Webster, Orangeburg. 
 
 2. Paris Simpkins, Edgefield. 
 S. E. Smith, Aiken. 
 
 3. E. F. Blodgett, Oconee. 
 R. W. Boone, Newberry. 
 
 4. C. M. Wilder, Columbia. 
 Wilson Cook, Greenville. 
 
 5. C. C. McCoy, Chester. 
 E. H. Dibble, Kershaw. 
 
 6. E. H. Deas, Darlington. 
 T. D. Corbin, Charleston. 
 
 - 7. T. B. Johnston, Sumter. 
 
 W. H. Thompson, Berkeley. 
 
 TENNESSEE. 
 
 At-Large. W. P. Brownlow, Jonesborough. 
 L. C. Houk, Knoxville. 
 J. C. Napier, Nashville. 
 T. F. Cassells, Memphis. 
 
 Districts, i. A. H. Pettibone, Greenville. 
 John W. Brown, Rogersville. 
 2. W. C. Chandler, Sevierville. 
 W. C. Chumlea, Marysville.
 
 316 PERSON ELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts. 3. H. F. Griscom, Chattanooga. 
 F. V. Brown, Jasper. 
 
 4. B. W. Burford, Carthage. 
 John Pruitt, Gallatin. 
 
 5. W. Y. Elliott, Murfreesboro. 
 W. M. Ekin, Lewisburg. 
 
 6. H. L. W. Cheatham, Nashville. 
 B. J. Hadley, Nashville. 
 
 7. A. M. Hughes, Jr., Columbia. 
 Richard Harris, Pulaski. 
 
 8. S. W. Hawkins, Huntington. 
 J. C. Watson, Jackson. 
 
 9. M. E. Bell, Dresden. 
 
 S. A. McElwee, Brownsville. 
 10. Carter Harris, Memphis. 
 James H. Smith, Memphis. 
 
 TEXAS. 
 
 At-Large. C. C. Brinkley, Sherman. 
 Robert Seapp, Lagrange. 
 M. W. Cuney, Galveston. 
 Richard Allen, Houston. 
 
 Districts. I. R. J. Evans, Navasota. 
 J. Greene. 
 
 2. A. Burkhardt, Anderson County. 
 H. L. Davis, Freestone County. 
 
 3. Webster Flanigan, Henderson. 
 Simon Bergt, Canton. 
 
 4. A. G. Mallory, Galveston. 
 
 Contestant. Henry Carter, Jefferson. 
 R. Taylor. 
 
 5. Q. T. Lyons, Sherman. 
 
 R. S. Cleaves, Gainesville. 
 
 6. John S. Witmer, Dallas. 
 J. C. Ackers, Hillsboro. 
 
 7. L. W. Renfrew, Brownsville. 
 M. R. Ferguson, Richmond.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 317 
 
 Districts. 8. Henry Green. 
 
 A. J. Rosenthal, Lagrange. 
 9. Nathan Patton, Palestine. 
 Henry Blount, Brenham. 
 10. J. C. Degress, Austin. 
 
 L. Hanschke, San Antonio. 
 n. P. Campbell, El Paso. 
 
 J. McConnell, Jacksboro. 
 
 VERMONT. 
 
 At-Large. Gregory Smith, St. Albans. 
 Redfield Proctor, Rutland. 
 Frederick Billings, Woodstock. 
 Broughton D. Harris, Brattleborough. 
 
 Districts, i. Alonzo B. Valentine, Bennington. 
 
 Henry Ballard, Burlington. 
 2. B. Frank Fifield, Montpelier. 
 
 Truman C. Fletcher, St. Johnsbury. 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 At-Large. William Mahone, Petersburg, Washington, D. C. 
 James D. Brady, Petersburg. 
 S. F. Blair, Richmond. 
 L. M. Yost, Staunton. 
 W. H. Pleasants, Danville. 
 A. A. Dodson, Clarksville. 
 
 Districts, i. Duff Green, Falmouth. 
 L. R. Steward, Warsaw. 
 
 2. Harry Libbey, Washington, D. C. 
 Jordan Thompson, Suffolk. 
 
 3. N. C. Elam, Richmond. 
 
 J. Anderson Taylor, Richmond. 
 
 4. W. E. Gaiaes, Burkeville. 
 A, W, Harris, Petersburg.
 
 3l8 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 Districts. 5. William E. Sims, Chatham. 
 Winfield Scott, Floyd C. H. 
 
 6. James A. Frazier, Lexington. 
 J. M. McLaughlin, Lynchburg. 
 
 7. L. S. Walker, Woodstock. 
 J. L. Dunn, Nortonsville. 
 
 8. R. L. Mitchell, Alexandria. 
 4 Thomas G. Popham, Slate Mills. 
 
 9. H. C. Wood, Estillville. 
 D. F. Houston, Roanoke. 
 
 STRAIGHTOUTS. 
 
 At-Large. John F. Dezendorf. 
 B. B. Botts. 
 William C. Wickham. 
 H. C. Parsons. 
 J. M. Dawson. 
 William H. Lester. 
 
 Districts, i. S. P. Gresham. 
 
 Nathaniel Schroeder. 
 
 2. J. Callahari. 
 John Carey. 
 
 3. Otis H. Russell. 
 Lazarus Bibb. 
 
 4. B. F. Williams. 
 E. D. Scott. 
 
 5. Not named. 
 
 6. J. B. Work. 
 Henry Clay. 
 
 7. A. M. Lawson. 
 S. W. Cochran. 
 
 8. E. O. Hines. 
 
 W. W. Willoughoy. 
 
 9. C. C. Tompkins. 
 E. M. Rucker.
 
 PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 319 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA. 
 
 At-Large. B. B. Dorener, Wheeling. 
 
 William M. O. Dawson, Kingwood. 
 E. L. Buttrick, Charleston. 
 Warren Miller, Ravenswood. 
 
 Districts. I. C. D. Thompson, Wheeling. 
 
 T. B. Jacobs, New Martinsville. 
 
 2. Lamar C. Powell, Fairmont. 
 Arnold C. Sherr, Maysville. 
 
 3. Neil Robinson, Coalburg. 
 
 J. W. Heavener, Buckhannon. 
 
 4. B. J. Redmond, West Columbia. 
 M. C. C. Church, Parkersburg. 
 
 WISCONSIN. 
 
 At-Large. E. B. Brodhead, Milwaukee. 
 E. W. Keyes, Madison. 
 Jonathan Bowman, Kilbourn City. 
 Thomas B. Scott, Grand Rapids. 
 
 Districts, i. H. A. Cooper, Racine. 
 J. W. Sayles, Janesville. 
 
 2. W. T. Rambush, Juneau. 
 S. S. Barney, West Bend. 
 
 3. Calvin Spenseley, Mineral Point. 
 A. C. Dodge, Monroe. 
 
 4. F. C. Winker, Milwaukee. 
 Edward Sanderson, Milwaukee. 
 
 5. J. H. Mead, Sheboygan. 
 
 C. E. Estabrook, Manitowoc. 
 
 6. C. B. Clark, Nenah. 
 
 A. M. Kimball, Pine River. 
 
 7. C. M. Butt, Viroqua. 
 
 O. F. Temple, Masston. 
 
 8. Horace A. Taylor, Hudson. 
 George B. Shaw, Eau Claire. 
 
 9. Alexander Stewart, Wausau. 
 O. A. Ellis, Oconto.
 
 -32O PERSONELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 
 ARIZONA. 
 
 Clark Churchill, 
 A. H. Stebbins, 
 
 Preston 
 Tombstone 
 
 W. E. Nelson, 
 J. L. Jolly, 
 
 DAKOTA. 
 
 Yankton 
 Yankton 
 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 
 
 Frank B. Conger 
 Perry H. Carson 
 
 Washington 
 Washington 
 
 D. P. B. Pride 
 W. N. Shilling 
 
 IDAHO. 
 
 Boise City 
 Blackfoot. 
 
 Wilbur F. Saunders 
 Lee Mantle - 
 
 MONTANA. 
 
 Helene 
 Butte 
 
 Eugenie Romere 
 W. H. H. Llewellyn 
 
 NEW MEXICO. 
 
 Las Vegas 
 Lincoln 
 
 Eli H. Murray 
 Nathan Kimball 
 
 UTAH. 
 
 Salt Lake City 
 Ogden
 
 PERSON ELLE OF THE CONVENTION. 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
 John L. Wilson 
 George D. Hill 
 
 James France 
 John W. Meldrum 
 
 WYOMING. 
 
 321 
 
 Spokane 
 Seattle 
 
 Rawlins 
 Laramie City
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PLATFORM. 
 
 "Do not stand on the platform when the train 
 is in motion," is a legend seriously employed in 
 railroad travel and ironically employed among the 
 political parties. Every party is supposed to 
 have certain principles which constitute its dis- 
 tinctive features and form a basis on which to 
 rest its demand for votes. These features are 
 technically "the planks," of which " the party 
 platform " is constructed, and on which it pre- 
 sents itself to the world and does its work. It 
 is a natural impulse to make unsightly and un- 
 sound platforms look the best possible. The 
 rough planks of the platform at the country 
 picnic are decorated with evergreens ; the extem- 
 porized platform of the Fourth of July rally is 
 covered with flags, and so the unsightliness and 
 unsoundness of many a party platform has been 
 concealed with redundant verbiage and vague 
 phrases. Indeed, so much does the average 
 " platform " deal in meaningless, or double-mean- 
 ing phrases, that no man can be fairly credited 
 with standing on it. And yet the party platform 
 is an institution. The stump speakers of the cam- 
 322
 
 THE PLATFORM. 323 
 
 paign quote it, and the excited disputants appeal 
 to it. To many it has the authority of both law 
 and gospel. 
 
 The platform for the campaign of 1884 was 
 adopted at Chicago, Thursday, June 5th. 
 
 As the platform was being read there were in- 
 terruptions of applause at the points approving the 
 President's administration ; declaring that duties 
 shall be made not for revenue only ; claiming 
 full and adequate protection for sheep husbandry ; 
 recommending legislation to regulate the rail- 
 roads ; disapproving the importation of contract 
 labor, whether from Europe or Asia ; favoring the 
 civil service law ; condemning the acquisition of 
 large tracts of lands, especially by non-resident 
 aliens ; declaring the policy of non-interference 
 with foreign nations, and that foreign nations shall 
 refrain from intermeddling in American affairs ; 
 for the enforcement of the laws against polygamy 
 and condemning the fraud and violence of the 
 Democracy in the Southern States. The resolu- 
 tions were adopted without discussion and amid 
 much applause. The full text of the platform is 
 given below: 
 
 THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM. 
 
 The Republicans of the United States, in Convention 
 assembled, renew their allegiance to the principles upon 
 which they have triumphed in six successive Presidential 
 elections, and congratulate the American people on the
 
 324 THE PLATFORM. 
 
 attainment of so many results in legislation and admin- 
 istration by which the Republican party has, after saving 
 the Union, done so much to render its institutions just, 
 equal and beneficent the safeguard of liberty, and the 
 embodiment of the best thought and highest purposes of 
 our citizens. The Republican party has gained its 
 strength by quick and faithful response to the demands 
 of the people for the freedom and the equality of all men ; 
 for a united nation, assuring the rights of all citizens ; for 
 the elevation of labor ; for an honest currency ; for purity 
 in legislation, and for integrity and accountability in all 
 departments of the Government, and it accepts anew the 
 duty of leading in the work of progress and reform. We 
 lament the death of President Garfield, whose sound 
 statesmanship, long conspicuous in Congress, gave 
 promise of a strong and successful administration, a 
 promise fully realized during the short period of his office 
 as President of the United States. His distinguished 
 success in war and in peace have endeared him to the 
 hearts of the American people. In the administration of 
 President Arthur we recognize a wise, conservative and 
 patriotic policy, under which the country has been blessed 
 with remarkable prosperity, and we believe his eminent 
 services are entitled to, and will receive, the hearty 
 approval of every citizen. 
 
 It is the first duty of a good government to protect the 
 rights and promote the interests of its own people ; the 
 largest diversity of industry is most productive of general 
 prosperity, and of the comfort and independence of the 
 people. 
 
 THE TARIFF. 
 
 We therefore demand that the imposition of duties on 
 foreign imports shall be made not for " revenue only,"
 
 THE PLATFORM 325 
 
 but that in raising the requisite revenues for the Govern- 
 ment, such duties shall be so levied as to afford security 
 to our diversified industries, and protection to the rights 
 and wages of the laborer, to the end that active and intel- 
 ligent labor, as well as capital, may have its just award, 
 and the laboring man his full share in the national 
 prosperity. Against the so-called economical system of 
 the Democratic party, which would degrade our labor to 
 the foreign standard, we enter our earnest protest. The 
 Democratic party has failed completely to relieve the 
 people of the burden of unnecessary taxation by a wise 
 reduction of the surplus. 
 
 The Republican party pledges itself to correct the 
 inequalities of the tariff, and to reduce the surplus, not by 
 the vicious and indiscriminate process of horizontal reduc- 
 tion, but by such methods as will relieve the tax -payer 
 without injuring the laborer or the great productive inter- 
 ests of the country. 
 
 We recognize the importance of sheep husbandry in 
 the United States, the serious depression which it is now 
 experiencing, and the danger threatening its future 
 prosperity, and we therefore respect the demands of the 
 representatives of this important agricultural interest for 
 a readjustment of duty upon foreign wool, in order that 
 such industry shall have full and adequate protection. 
 
 We have always recommended the best money known 
 to the civilized world, and we urge that an effort be made 
 to unite all commercial nations in the establishment of 
 the international standard which shall fix for all the rela- 
 tive value of gold and silver coinage. 
 
 POWERS OF CONGRESS. 
 
 The regulation of commerce with foreign nations, and 
 between the States, is one of the most important preroga-
 
 326 THE I'l.ATl-nkM. 
 
 tives of the General Government, and the Republican 
 party distinctly announces its purpose to support such 
 legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the con- 
 stitutional power of Congress over inter-State commerce. 
 The principle of the public regulation of railway corpo- 
 rations is a wise and salutary one for the protection of all 
 classes of the people, and we favor legislation that shall 
 prevent unjust discrimination and excessive charges for 
 transportation, and that shall secure to the people and to 
 the railways alike the fair and equal protection of the 
 laws. We favor the establishment of a national bureau 
 of labor, the enforcement of the eight-hour law, a wise 
 and judicious system of general education by adequate 
 appropriation from the national revenues wherever the 
 same is needed. We believe that everywhere the pro- 
 tection to a citizen of American birth must be secured to 
 the citizens by American adoption, and we favor the 
 settlement of national differences by international arbi- 
 tration. 
 
 The Republican party, having its birth in a hatred of 
 slave labor, and in a desire that all men may be free and 
 equal, is unalterably opposed to placing our workingmen 
 in competition with any form of servile labor, whether at 
 home or abroad. In this spirit we denounce the import- 
 ation of contract labor, whether from Europe or Asia, as 
 an offense against the spirit of American institutions, and 
 we pledge ourselves to sustain the present law restricting 
 Chinese immigration, and to provide such further legisla- 
 tion as is necessary to carry out its purposes. 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE REFORM. 
 
 The reform of the civil service, auspiciously begun 
 under Republican administration, should be completed
 
 THE PLATFORM. 327 
 
 by the further extension of the reform system, already 
 established by law, to all the grades of the service to 
 which it is applicable. The spirit and purpose of the 
 reform should be observed in all executive appointments, 
 and all laws at variance with the objects of existing 
 reform legislation should be repealed to the end, that the 
 dangers to free institutions which lurk in the power of 
 official patronage may be wisely and effectively avoided. 
 
 PUBLIC LANDS. 
 
 The public lands are a heritage of the people of the 
 United States, and should be reserved, as far as possible, 
 for small holdings by actual settlers. We are opposed to 
 the acquisition of large tracts of these lands by corpora- 
 tions or individuals, especially where such holdings are 
 in the hands of non-resident aliens, and we will endeavor 
 to obtain such legislation as will tend to correct this evil. 
 
 We demand of Congress the speedy forfeiture of all 
 land grants which have lapsed by reason of non-compli- 
 ance with acts of incorporation, in all cases, where there 
 has been no attempt, in good faith, to perform the con- 
 ditions of such grants. 
 
 The grateful thanks of the American people are due to 
 the Union soldiers and sailors of the late war, and the 
 Republican party stands pledged to suitable pensions to 
 all who were disabled and for the widows and orphans 
 of those who died in the war. The Republican party 
 pledges itself to the repeal of the limitation contained in 
 the arrears act of 1879, so tnat a ^ invalid soldiers shall 
 share alike and their pensions shall begin with the date 
 of disability or discharge and not with the date of the 
 application. 
 
 The Republican party favors a policy which shall keep 
 us from entangling alliances with foreign nations, and
 
 328 THE PLATFORM. 
 
 which shall give the right to expect that foreign nations 
 shall refrain from meddling in America the policy 
 which seeks peace and can trade with all powers, but 
 especially with those of the Western Hemisphere. We 
 demand the restoration of our navy to its old-time strength 
 and efficiency, that it may in any sea protect the rights 
 of American citizens and the interests of American com- 
 merce, and we call upon Congress to remove the burdens 
 under which American shipping has been depressed so 
 that it may again be true that we have a commerce which 
 leaves no sea unexplored and a navy which takes no law 
 for superior force. 
 
 RESOLVED, That appointments by the President to 
 offices in the Territories should be made from the bona 
 fide citizens and residents of the Territories wherein they 
 are to serve. 
 
 RESOLVED, That it is the duty of Congress to enact 
 such laws as shall promptly and effectually suppress the 
 system of polygamy within our territory, and divor e the 
 political from the ecclesiastical power of the so-called 
 Mormon Church, and that the law so enacted should be 
 rigidly enforced by the civil authorities if possible, and 
 by the military if need be. 
 
 THE NATION. 
 
 The people of the United States, in their organized 
 capacity, constitute a nation and not a mere confederacy 
 of States. The National Government is supreme within 
 the sphere of its national duty, but the States have 
 reserved rights which should be faithfully maintained ; 
 each should be guarded with jealous care, so that the 
 harmony of our system of government may be preserved 
 and the Union kept inviolate. The perpetuity of our 
 institutions rests upon the maintenance of a free ballot,
 
 Ei, 
 
 S. 5 
 
 i r
 
 THE PLATFORM. 33! 
 
 an honest count and a correct return. We denounce the 
 fraud and violence practiced by the Democratic party in 
 Southern States, by which the will of the voter is defeated, 
 as dangerous to the preservation of free institutions, and 
 we solemnly arraign the Democratic party as being the 
 guilty recipient of the fruit of such fraud and violence. 
 We extend to the Republicans of the South, regardless 
 of their former party affiliations, our cordial sympathy, 
 and pledge to them our most earnest efforts to promote 
 the passage of such legislation as will secure to every 
 citizen, of whatever race and color, the full and complete 
 recognition, possession and exercise of all civil and 
 political rights. 
 
 Such is the declaration of principles on which 
 the Convention placed itself before proceeding to 
 the selection of its candidates.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 
 
 No session of the Convention had awakened 
 so general interest and enthusiasm as that held 
 on Thursday night, when naming the candidates 
 was the order of business. The Convention 
 presented a most brilliant and imposing spectacle. 
 More than a thousand gaslights illuminated the 
 hall, and fully one-third of the galleries and half 
 the stage platform were filled with ladies. The 
 night was clear and cool, 'the occasion one of 
 uncommon inspiration, and everything befitted 
 the greatest work of the greatest people of the 
 earth. The States were called in order, and such 
 as had a favorite son to name presented him in a 
 suitable speech from a chosen representative. 
 Connecticut was the first to respond, which she 
 did in the person of Augustus Brandagee, of 
 New London, who presented the name of General 
 Joseph R. Hawley. He spoke at length of Gen- 
 eral Hawley's services to the party and his war 
 record. " He fought," said Mr. Brandagee, " the 
 war through, from a private at Bull Run until that 
 day when the Democratic party laid down its arms 
 under the apple tree of Appomattox. [Applause.]
 
 GENERAL JOSEPH R. HAWLEY, 
 U. S. Senator for Connecticut.
 
 NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 335 
 
 He went in with a musket. He came out as a 
 major-general. But, sir, it is not in the purple 
 testament of bleeding war that his name is written ; 
 among the foremost alone he stands, as well in the 
 front rank of debaters, orators and Senators. 
 There is no State where his voice has not been 
 heard, preaching the gospel of Republicanism. 
 He was a Republican before the Republican party 
 was born. [Applause and cheers.] He believed in 
 its creed before it was formulated. [Applause 
 and cheers.] There is no question in the Senate 
 of the United States which has not received his 
 intelligence." Mr. Brandagee said his character 
 was without stain, and there was nothing to apolo- 
 gize for, but if the Convention concluded it had a 
 better candidate than Hawley, Connecticut would 
 cheerfully support him. 
 
 Illinois responded to the call through Senator 
 Callow, who presented the name of General John 
 A. Logan. He dwelt on Logan's war record, 
 and said he had never lost a battle, nor disobeyed 
 an order. His remarks were frequently cheered, 
 but he and his second exhausted the enthusiasm 
 of the house by the inordinate length of their 
 remarks. 
 
 The call of Maine produced a storm of applause, 
 shaking the building from the floor to the dome. 
 Hats, canes, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, even bon- 
 nets, were wildly waved. The applause was 
 incessant. The audience got upon chairs, the
 
 336 NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 
 
 ladies waving their handkerchiefs. The band 
 finally tried to drown the enthusiasm of the multi- 
 tude, but only an occasional strain could be heard. 
 The chairman vainly tried to secure order. Judge 
 West, of Ohio, finally took the floor to present the 
 name of James G. Elaine. He paid an eloquent 
 tribute to Blaine. There was intense applause 
 upon reference to Abraham Lincoln, the immortal 
 emancipator. The Judge asked, "Who shall be 
 our candidate ? " which evoked loud replies from 
 the audience of " Blaine ! " " Blaine ! " and pro- 
 duced a shouting combat of voices, the supporters 
 of each loudly shouting their favorite name. 
 When West mentioned Elaine's name, the audience 
 arose to its feet, and tremendous cheering was 
 long continued. The audience took the flags 
 fastened around the gallery and waved them. 
 Then they pulled the banners down from the walls 
 of the hall, waving them amid deafening cheering. 
 
 When West had finished there was renewed 
 cheering, which continued for some time afterward. 
 Ex-Governor, Cushman K. Davis, of Minnesota, 
 took the floor to second the nomination. He said 
 the people of the country asked this Convention 
 to grant their twice-deferred desire ; that Blaine 
 was not of one State, but of all, from Maine to 
 California. He concluded his speech amid another 
 outburst of applause. 
 
 General William Cassius Goodloe, of Kentucky, 
 from the home of Henry Clay, followed in a speech
 
 S? H 
 
 i 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 ;__llj__ ll._ :i_:A_-!- 
 
 cc S
 
 NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 339 
 
 seconding Elaine's nomination. By this time the 
 crowd outside of the Convention had taken up the 
 enthusiasm, their cheers preventing much of the 
 speech being heard at remote points in the hall. 
 Ex-Senator Thomas C. Platt, of New York, also 
 seconded the nomination. He asked the Blaine 
 delegates to stand firm, and victory now and in 
 November was theirs. He was followed by Hon. 
 Galusha A. Grow, of Pennsylvania, who also spoke 
 for Blaine. 
 
 When New York was called the house burst 
 into cheers, which were generally participated in. 
 The cheering continued and flags and handker- 
 chiefs were waved and many delegates threw their 
 hats in the air. Finally the galleries struck up the 
 old refrain, "John Brown's Body." 
 
 Martin I. Townsend took the floor to present 
 Arthur. His speech was freqently interrupted by 
 cheers. He said Arthur's nomination would give 
 satisfaction to all classes of citizens. Townsend's 
 reference to Conkling and Platt resigning on 
 account of Elaine's wickedness was received with 
 a storm of hisses. The latter part of Townsend's 
 speech was delivered amid a good deal of con- 
 fusion and interruption. 
 
 General Harry Bingham, of Pennsylvania, 
 secor I the nomination of Arthur, in an enthu- 
 siastic speech, which was well received. When he 
 spoke for Pennsylvania, and pledged the electoral 
 vote for Arthur by 30,000, he revived the Arthur
 
 34O NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 
 
 enthusiasm and warmed up the chilly atmosphere 
 that surrounded them at the close of the preced- 
 ing day. It was a most successful speech, and if 
 any really impressed the Convention his was the 
 most impressive. Lynch, of Mississippi, then took 
 the stand to second the nomination of Arthur, and 
 he was received with cheers. Winston, of North 
 Carolina, also seconded the nomination, and 
 Pinchback, of Louisiana, followed. 
 
 When Ohio was called Judge Foracker took the 
 platform amid hearty greetings. His opening 
 compliment to Blaine started so wild a storm of 
 applause that his main object, the nomination of 
 John Sherman, of Ohio, was temporarily lost to 
 view. But the Judge managed the affair grace- 
 fully, and made a splendid speech, though he did 
 not kindle the audience beyond a moderate glow 
 of enthusiasm. Holt, of Kentucky, followed, but 
 the fervor did not rise. 
 
 When Vermont, was called Governor Long, of 
 Massachusetts, took the floor for Senator George 
 F. Edmunds. His speech was entirely outside of 
 the regulation oratorical eulogies. He spoke like 
 a bold, brave man for an able and blameless can- 
 didate, and he waked the Convention out of its 
 weariness by his sensible and incisive admonitions 
 to the delegates and the party. When he closed 
 there were hearty rounds of applause, in which the 
 Arthur delegates cordially participated. Next 
 came George William Curtis to second the Ed-
 
 NAMING THE CANDIDATES. 343 
 
 munds' nomination, which he did with his accus- 
 tomed grace and elegance, but the appeal fell 
 lifeless as the man of the hour had evidently been 
 named. 
 
 When the question came, at a later stage, upon 
 the candidates for the Vice Presidency, a strong 
 effort was anticipated for Secretary of. War Lin- 
 coln and also for Postmaster-General Gresham, 
 but it was understood that these gentlemen pre- 
 ferred that their names be not used, and so the 
 whole Convention swung bodily to General Logan, 
 who, though he had been nominated for the first 
 place on the ticket was, nevertheless, understood 
 to be "in the hands of his friends." His friends 
 used him well, and rallied about him with 
 unbounded enthusiasm and great good sense, 
 making him, in fact, the one man presented for 
 the second place.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CHOICE. 
 
 FRIDAY, June 6th, was the eventful day of the 
 Convention. It was called to order by Chairman 
 Henderson at 11.19 A. M., and the Rev. Dr. 
 Henry Martyn Scudder led in prayer, after which 
 the body quickly addressed itself to the work of 
 nominating the candidate for the presidency. 
 
 By vote of the National Committee and of the 
 convention itself, the rules of the convention of 
 1880 were adopted for the government of that of 
 1884. These rules provided, 
 
 First That each State must respond when 
 called, or lose its right to be counted on that ballot. 
 
 Second That an absent delegate has no right 
 to authorize any one to vote for him, and that 
 each delegate or each alternate must cast his own 
 vote. 
 
 Third That when a delegate fails to respond, 
 the name of the alternate borne upon the roll 
 opposite that delegate shall then be called. If 
 that alternate does not respond, the names of the 
 other alternates selected for the same representa- 
 tion by the same authority will be called in their 
 order ; as, for instance, if a delegate-at-large fails 
 
 344
 
 THE CHOICE. 345 
 
 to respond, and the alternate whose name is on 
 the roll opposite that delegate-at-large also fails 
 to respond, the chair will direct the other three 
 alternates-at-large to be called in their order, and 
 there stop. If, on the other hand, the failure to 
 respond be that of a district delegate, the. chair 
 will direct the name of the other alternate from 
 that district (the first one failing to respond) to be 
 called, and there stop, 
 
 fourth A delegate absent when the vote of 
 his State is announced and recorded cannot, on 
 that vote, be counted. 
 
 All these rulings, which were carefully and dis- 
 tinctly stated by the president, Senator Hoar, 
 were acquiesced in without dissent, and were 
 accepted as the law governing the proceedings 
 of the Convention of 1880, and were rigidly and 
 impartially applied. 
 
 During the roll-call there were numerous calls 
 for a poll of the delegates, which necessitated the 
 calling by the Secretary of the names of the indi- 
 vidual' delegates in the states from which these 
 calls proceeded. This caused great delay in bal- 
 loting. After the announcement of the vote by 
 the Secretary, the Chair said : 
 
 "A ballot for a candidate for the presidency 
 having been had without securing a nomination, 
 according to the rules, the Convention will now 
 proceed to another vote. The Secretary will call 
 the roll." The first ballot stood as follows :
 
 LIFE OF JAMES C. I: I. A INK. 
 
 TIIK FIRST BALLOT. 
 
 States and 
 
 Territories. 
 
 Total vote. 
 
 Blaine. 
 
 Arthur. 
 
 Edmunds. 
 
 d 
 
 a 
 
 S 
 
 Sherman. 
 
 Hawley. 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 W. T. Shorn iau. 
 
 Alaliama 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 It 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 California. 
 
 Hi 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 'olorado 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < 'i HI iieetirnt 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 1 (ela wari'. 
 
 (I 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J- 'lurida 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < ieor^ia 
 
 24 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Illinois. 
 
 44 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 lows 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 26 
 
 5K 
 
 16 
 
 
 2 1 A 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 16 
 
 ?; 
 
 10 
 
 
 p 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Marvland 
 
 16 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "C, 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 M ississippi 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 M issoiirl 
 
 32 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 ib 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 8 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 New York 
 
 7J 
 
 28 
 
 31 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 22 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 46 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2.-. 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 47 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 South * 'arolina 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 Texas 
 
 20 
 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vermont .. 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \'ir ir i nia 
 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 21 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 \\'est Vir-'inia 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 \V isconsin 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arizona 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 lakota 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Idaho 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montana, 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Utah 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Washington 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \V\ oinin" 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 l)ist of Columbia 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 S3) 
 
 3*4^ 
 
 278 
 
 !i:; 
 
 ngf 
 
 80 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 The half votes shown in this table came from 
 contested delegations, each being admitted with 
 but half a vote.
 
 THE CHOICE. 
 
 347 
 
 THE SECOND BALLOT. 
 
 The Secretary called the roll of states for the 
 second ballot, which resulted as follows : 
 
 States and 
 Territories. 
 
 Total vote. 
 
 Arthur. 
 
 Blaine. 
 
 Edmunds. 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 
 ! 
 
 Sherman. 
 
 Hawley. 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 W. T. Sherman. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 20 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 California 
 
 16 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colorado 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 Delaware 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Florida 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Georgia 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Illinois 
 
 44 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 30 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 26 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 26 
 
 17 
 
 5 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maryland 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 28 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 32 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire .. .. 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 18 
 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 New York 
 
 72 
 
 81 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 22 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 46 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 11 
 
 47 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 21 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Utah 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 District of Columbia 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals 
 
 Sl>l) 
 
 276 
 
 349 
 
 85 
 
 61 
 
 28 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 This announcement was received with cheers.
 
 348 
 
 i. in-: OF JAMKS f;. I-.I.AINK. 
 
 THE THIRD BALLOT. 
 
 No nomination having been made, the Secre- 
 tary called the roll for the third ballot, which 
 resulted as follows : 
 
 states and 
 Territories 
 
 Total vote. 
 
 Hlaine. 
 
 Arthur. 
 
 ! 
 
 Edmunds. 
 
 Sherman. 
 
 H:,wley. 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 W. T. Sherman. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arkansu-s 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 California 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( 'olorado. 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Connect ieut 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 I vlaware 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Klorida 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( iiMir^iii 
 
 24 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Illinois 
 
 44 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 40 
 
 
 t t 
 
 
 
 
 Illiliaiia 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 26 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Muint'. 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maryland. 
 
 16 
 
 ft 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ma>>acl in setts 
 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 Michigan 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Minnesota . 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 32 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 8 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 18 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 Nt-w York 
 
 72 
 
 28 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 iiliio 
 
 46 
 
 S, 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 < 11 i "Oil 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IVn nsvl vaniii 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ithodf Island 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 South ( 'arolina 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Texas 
 
 26 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 Virginia 
 
 24 
 
 4 
 
 20" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \\Vst Virginia 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Ari/.ona 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dakota 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Idaho 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montana 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Mexieo 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I'tah 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Washington 
 
 | 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 \Vvomiii" 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 lii-t. of Columbia 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals. 
 
 820 
 
 375 
 
 274 
 
 53 
 
 69 
 
 25 
 
 13 
 
 8 
 
 2
 
 THE CHOICE. 
 
 349 
 
 THE FOURTH BALLOT. 
 
 The Secretary called the roll of the states for 
 the fourth and last ballot, which resulted as 
 follows : 
 
 States and 
 Territories. 
 
 Total vote. 
 
 Arthur. 
 
 Elaine 
 
 Edmunds. 
 
 d 
 
 1 
 
 Sherman, 
 
 Hawley. 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 Alabama 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 California 
 
 16 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colorado 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 Delaware 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Florida 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Georgia 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Illinois ! 
 
 44 
 
 3 
 
 34 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 Indiana . 
 
 30 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 18 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 9 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Louisiana . 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mar5 T land 
 
 16 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 28 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 Michigan 
 
 26 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 14 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Misssissippi 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 32 
 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nebraska.. 
 
 10 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 18 
 
 
 17 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 72 
 
 30 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 46 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Oregon 
 
 26 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 
 60 
 
 8 
 
 51 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rhode Island . . 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Texas . . . 
 
 26 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Vermont, 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 Virginia 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 W^est Virginia 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin . 
 
 22 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arizona . 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dakota , 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Idaho 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montana . . 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 2 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Utah 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Washington 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dist. of Columbia 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Totals , 820 i 207 I 541 I 41
 
 35 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 During this ballot Illinois and Ohio swung into 
 
 the Blaine line, amid the greatest cheering, and, at 
 
 the conclusion, the Secretary announced the result 
 
 of the fourth ballot for President as follows : 
 
 Whole number of delegates, . . . 820 
 
 Whole number of votes cast, . . 816 
 
 Necessary to a choice, . . . .411 
 
 Robert T. Lincoln, .... 2 
 
 John A. Logan, ..... 7 
 
 Joseph Hawley, . . . . 15 
 
 George F. Edmunds, . . . .41 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, .... 207 
 
 James G. Blaine, ..... 541 
 
 The Secretary's announcement of the vote for 
 
 James G. Blaine got no further than the hundreds, 
 
 for his voice was lost in the whirlwind of applause 
 
 that followed. Every person in the audience, 
 
 delegates and visitors alike, rose to their feet 
 
 simultaneously, and, all being Blaine men, shouted 
 
 and sang their delight at the success of the man 
 
 from Maine, with demonstrations of joy such as 
 
 had not been seen before in the Convention. It 
 
 took nearly thirty minutes to get to business, 
 
 after which the nomination was made unanimous. 
 
 * 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE BALLOTING. 
 
 Candidate. 1st. 2d. $d. 4//4. 
 
 Blaine, 334^ 349 375 541 
 
 Arthur, 278 276 274 207 
 
 Edmunds, 93 85 69 41 
 
 Logan 63^ 61 53 7
 
 THE CHOICE. 351 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE BALLOTING Continued. 
 
 Candidate. 1st. 2d. ^d. ijh. 
 
 Sherman, 30 28 25 o 
 
 Hawley, ....... 13 13 13 15 
 
 Lincoln, 4 4 7 2 
 
 W. T. Sherman, ... 2 2 2 o 
 
 Total votes cast. . 818 818 818 813 
 
 It was thought best not to be in a hurry about 
 the nomination for vice-president. Mistakes 
 have been made in that way, and conventions 
 have at last learned that the tail of the ticket 
 deserves some attention. A recess was taken 
 until 8 o'clock in the evening. Meanwhile, there 
 was an active and considerate canvass of names. 
 Logan, Lincoln, Foraker, Gresham were most 
 talked about, but the drift all the while was 
 toward Logan, the only question being whether 
 the black eagle of Illinois, as he has been called 
 by his admirers, would consent to the use of his 
 name for the second place on the ticket. 
 
 He was plied with importuning telegrams, and 
 at last it was posted on the bulletins at the hotels, 
 where the delegates most congregate that he 
 placed himself in the hands of kis friends. That 
 settled it. The Convention was an army of his 
 friends, largely under the leadership of men who 
 had served with him in the late war. Those who 
 were not already convinced of the propriety of the 
 nomination, had been brought to it by the argu-
 
 352 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 ment that, for the first time since the war a civilian 
 had been nominated for president, and that the 
 soldier element must have a place on the ticket. 
 The other candidates diappeared from the field as 
 if by magic, an when the Convention assembled 
 again the name of John A. Logan was the only 
 one presented. 
 
 It was seconded by men from every section of the 
 country, the only trouble being to put an end to 
 the speech-making. It was moved that the nomina- 
 tion be made by acclamation, but, on the appeal of 
 the Illinois delegation, there was a call of the roll, 
 and, except a few dissenters, the whole Conven- 
 tion voted for Logan.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 
 
 NOT alone in the convention at Chicago was 
 there joy when the great work was so successfully 
 accomplished, but all through the land the thrill 
 was felt. Every city was stirred, and even the 
 dullest hamlets were aroused by the news. Tele- 
 graphic wires were alive with news and also with 
 congratulations. At his distant home in Maine 
 the Presidential nominee was at rest, and thither 
 the electric messengers sped by the hundred. 
 Among the first of these were the following : 
 
 " To the Honorable James G. Elaine ', Augusta, Me. 
 
 " As the candidate of the Republican party you will 
 have my earnest and cordial support. 
 
 " CHESTER A. ARTHUR." 
 
 " UNITED STATES SENATE. 
 
 "WASHINGTON, June 6. 
 " Hon. James G. Blaine, Augusta, Me. 
 
 " I most heartily congratulate you on your nomina- 
 tion. You will be elected. Your friend, 
 
 " JOHN A. LOGAN." 
 
 Congratulatory telegrams continued to reach 
 
 353
 
 354 I-IFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 Mr. Elaine all through Friday night and Saturday 
 in great numbers, not only from every State and 
 Territory of the Union, but from beyond the sea. 
 Many were received from Europe, among the 
 most prominent being those of Minister Morton 
 in Paris and Colonel John Hay and Clarence 
 King in London. More than a thousand tele- 
 grams were received within three hours after his 
 nomination. The following specially touching 
 telegram was received : 
 
 "CLEVELAND, OHIO, June 7, 1884. 
 " Our household joins in one great thanksgiving. From 
 the quiet of our home we send our most earnest wish 
 that, through the turbulent months to follow, and in the 
 day of victory, you may be guarded and kept. 
 
 " LUCRETIA R. GARFIELD." 
 
 In addition to the above, the following note- 
 worthy dispatches are given as fair samples of 
 the many : 
 
 " STILLWATER, IND., June 7, 1884. 
 " Hon. James G. Blaine : 
 
 " Vermont stood loyally by her favorite son to the last ; 
 she now stands with equal loyalty to Maine's favorite, 
 and will give him a rousing majority in November. 
 " J. GREGORY SMITH, 
 
 " Executive Chairman." 
 
 " MADISON, Wis., June 7, 1 884. 
 " Hon. James G. Elaine : 
 
 " In behalf of the Republicans of Wisconsin we send 
 greeting to you. The nomination is received with enthu-
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 355 
 
 siasm, and you will secure the largest majority ever given 
 for any presidential candidate in Wisconsin. 
 
 " J. M. RUSH." 
 
 " CHICAGO, June 7, 1884. 
 " Accept my heartiest congratulations. 
 
 " E. B. WASHBURN." 
 
 "TOLEDO, O., June 7, 1884. 
 " Hon. James G. Elaine : 
 
 " I congratulate you, but the party and country more. 
 I have not been so well pleased since my wedding day. 
 
 "E. R. LOCKE (' Nasby ')." 
 
 " CHICAGO, June 7, 1884. 
 " Hon. James G. Elaine : 
 
 " Accept the heartiest congratulations of the Oregon 
 delegation. Your nomination insures the largest Repub- 
 lican majority in Oregon in November ever given by that 
 State. " J. N. DOLPH, 
 
 " Chairman of the Delegation." 
 
 "INDIANAPOLIS, June 7, 1884. 
 " Hon. James G. Elaine : 
 
 " Accept my heartiest congratulations on your nomi- 
 nation. We will give you the electoral vote of Indiana. 
 
 " BENJ. HARRISON." 
 
 "ATLANTA, GA., June 7, 1884. 
 " Hon. James G. Elaine : 
 
 " It is my pleasure to send the warmest congratulations 
 of the Whig Republicans of Georgia, with pledges of our 
 support. JAMES LONGSTREET."
 
 356 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 Mr. Elaine's mail was equally burdened, its 
 contents being so voluminous that circular letters, 
 signed by the great nominee, and promising early 
 attention to the missives addressed him, were all 
 that could be sent out for many days, until the 
 clerical corps for his uses could be organized. 
 Within the first twenty-four hours after the nomi- 
 nation many letters were received from solid and 
 prominent men of New England, pledging him 
 their cordial support. The formation of several 
 Elaine Clubs were announced in his mail of the 
 day following his nomination. 
 
 When the news of his nomination was received, 
 all Maine seems to have been filled with acclama- 
 tions. At Augusta, the scenes of enthusiam were 
 unprecedented. The streets speedily filled with 
 exultant crowds, the bells rang out pseans of 
 rejoicing, cannon boomed, and every factory whistle 
 added its hoarse notes to the din and tumult. 
 Later in the evening, there was a general illumi- 
 nation of the town, and when a special train, filled 
 with enthusiastic Republicans from Brunswick, 
 Bath and other towns, reached Augusta, the dem- 
 onstrations assumed a character really metropoli- 
 tan. Moving in a body to the residence of Mr. 
 Blaine, the multitude "made the welkin ring" 
 with peal on peal of cheers, the tumult only sub- 
 siding when the nominee appeared at the door- 
 way and spoke as follows : 
 
 " MY FRIENDS AND MY NEIGHBORS : I thank
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 357 
 
 you most sincerely for the honor of this call. 
 There is no spot in the world where good news 
 comes to me so gratefully as here at my own 
 home, among the people with whom I have been 
 on terms of friendship and intimacy for more than 
 thirty years ; people whom I know and who know 
 me.- Thanking you again for the heartiness of 
 the compliment, I bid you good-night." 
 
 On withdrawing, Mr. Elaine returned to his 
 spacious parlors, into which a stream of people 
 were pouring to take him by the hand. Mrs. 
 Blaine and his daughters, with Gail Hamilton, 
 were present and had their share of the honors 
 bestowed. As soon as the people had paid their 
 tributes of respect to Mr. Blaine, they took their 
 departure, while their places were instantly rilled 
 by others. Mr. Blaine gave a cordial shake of 
 the hand to each one, and for those he recognized 
 he had a pleasant word. At 10 o'clock, a special 
 train from Portland reached Augusta, and an 
 hour later a Pullman train from Bangor arrived, 
 each bearing hundreds of people, who came 
 expressly to congratulate Mr. Blaine on his nomi- 
 nation. 
 
 On the 9th, Augusta was again the scene of 
 enthusiastic demonstrations in connection with the 
 arrival of the California and other Western dele- 
 gates to the National Convention, who visited the 
 city to pay their respects to Mr. Blaine. These 
 visitors remained for two or three days, being
 
 358 1.IH-: OF JAMKS (,. ni.AINK. 
 
 treated with characteristic hospitality by the citi- 
 zens of the Maine capital. 
 
 " Mr. Blaine does not seem to have been at all 
 excited over the fact of his nomination. A press 
 dispatch says: "He spent the afternoon on the 
 lower front of his residence on State street, 
 reclining in a hammock, under the shade of an 
 apple-tree, white with blossoms, apparently per- 
 fectly unconcerned at the fact that the eyes of the 
 whole nation were upon him. His wife and sev- 
 eral members of his family were around him ; 
 Miss Dodge, Mr. Alden Sprague, of the Kenne- 
 bec Journal, was also present. Maggie, one of 
 Mr. Elaine's daughters, was stationed at the tele- 
 phone in an upper room in the residence, taking 
 the latest news, which was telephoned by James 
 G. Blaine, Jr., from the telegraph office. As the 
 dispatches came in, Mr. Blaine opened and read 
 them. When the final news came, and the nomi- 
 nation was made certain, there was no particular 
 change in the manner of the party. Mr. Blaine 
 did not appear affected in any way, but on the 
 contrary exhibited the utmost equanimity. There 
 was only a slight dilation of his big and lustrous 
 eyes, which bespoke how deeply he felt and appre- 
 ciated the great honor conferred upon him. A 
 few minutes later, he betrayed a slight emotion, 
 as he casually remarked that he owed much to the 
 deoted men who had stood by him for so many 
 years. In speaking of the result, he said that he
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 359 
 
 felt all the more gratified, because it was an honor 
 that had come to him unsolicited. He had not 
 lifted a finger to secure the nomination, or had 
 made any endeavor in any direction to get it. He 
 had received over seven thousand letters asking 
 him to be a candidate, and had never answered one 
 of them. Other remarks were made in a spirit 
 worthy of the man, and then the conversation 
 turned to other topics as if nothing had happened. 
 
 But Mr. Elaine was not alone in the congratu- 
 lations and compliments showered upon him. 
 General Logan enjoyed greetings of similar favor. 
 His official associates were prompt and exuberant 
 in their expressions, as were old army associates, 
 and friends in all parts of the country. He made 
 a tour to Augusta to confer with his associate on 
 the ticket, and this was an occasion of great 
 rejoicing. Enthusiasm greeted him at all points 
 of his journey. The visit was both social and 
 political, and gave assurance that the chief men 
 of the campaign will work in entire accord. 
 
 On the evening of June 2ist, the ex-soldiers 
 and sailors resident in Washington serenaded Gen- 
 eral Logan. They assembled at the City Hall, 
 and, forming in platoons of twelve, marched, 
 headed by the Marine Band, to the General's resi- 
 dence, where a crowd of two or three thousand 
 citizens had already assembled. The proces- 
 sion was liberally supplied with banners, rock- 
 ets, Roman candles and noise-making devices.
 
 360 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 The banner of the Army of the Tennessee was 
 displayed from an upper window of General 
 Logan's house. General Logan's appearance was 
 greeted with a storm of -cheers. When the 
 applause had subsided, he was introduced in a 
 brief speech by General Green B. Raum. Gen- 
 eral Logan then addressed the assemblage as 
 follows : 
 
 " Comrades and fellow-citizens: The warm 
 expressions of confidence and congratulations 
 which you offer me through your chairman, 
 impress me with a deep sense of gratitude, and I 
 beg to tender my sincerest thanks to one and all 
 of my participating friends for this demonstration 
 of kindness and esteem. Your visit at this time, 
 gentlemen, is interesting to me in a double aspect. 
 As citizens of our common country, tendering a 
 tribute to me as a public man, I meet you with 
 genuine pleasure and grateful acknowledgment. 
 Coming, however, as you do, in the character of 
 representatives of the soldiers and sailors of our 
 country, your visit possesses a feature insensibly 
 leading to a train of most interesting reflections. 
 Your assemblage is composed of men who gave 
 up the pursuits of peace, relinquished the com- 
 forts of home, severed the ties of friendship and 
 yielded the gentle and loving society of father, 
 mother, sister, brother and, in many instances, 
 wife and little ones, to brave the dangers of the 
 tented field or the crested wave, to run the gaunt-
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 361 
 
 let of sickness in climates different from your own, 
 and possibly, or even probably, to yield up life 
 itself in the service of your country. 
 
 " Twenty-three years ago, gentlemen, when 
 dread war raised his wrinkled front throughout 
 the land, many of you were standing with one 
 foot on the portal of manhood, eager for the con- 
 flict with the world which promised to bring you 
 honor, riches and friends, and a life of peace and 
 ease in the society of your own family. But few 
 of you had passed the period of young manhood 
 or advanced to the opening scene of middle life. 
 At the call, however, of your endangered country 
 you did not hesitate to leave everything for which 
 we strive in this world to become defenders of 
 the Union, without the incentive which has 
 inspired men of other nations to adopt a 
 military career as a permanent occupation, and 
 as an outlet to ambition and an ascent to power. 
 
 " The safety of our country having been assured, 
 and its territorial integrity preserved, you 
 sheathed the sword, unfixed the bayonet, laid 
 away the musket, housed the cannon, doffed your 
 uniforms, donned the garments of civil life, buried 
 hatred towards our brothers of the South, and 
 shook hands in testimony of a mutual resolve to 
 rehabilitate the waste places and cultivate the arts 
 of peace, until our re-united country should be 
 greater, prouder and grander than ever. 
 
 "Those years have glided into the retreating
 
 362 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINE. 
 
 perspective of the past since you responded to 
 your country's call, and mighty changes in the 
 eventful march of nations have taken place. 
 
 This passing time has laid its gentle lines upon 
 the heads of many of you who shouldered your 
 muskets before the first beard was grown. But 
 however lightly or however heavily it has dealt 
 with you, your soldiers' and sailors' organizations 
 that have been kept up prove that the heart has 
 been untouched, and that your love of country 
 has but been intensified with the advancing years. 
 Your arms have been as strong and your voices 
 as clear in the promotion of peace as when lent 
 to the science of war, and the interest which you 
 take in national affairs proves that you are patriot- 
 ically determined to maintain what you fought for, 
 and that which our lost comrades gave up their 
 lives to secure for the benefit of those who 
 survived them. 
 
 " During the past twenty years, in which we 
 have been blessed with peace, the Republican 
 party has been continued in the administration of 
 the Government. When the great question of 
 preserving or giving up the Union of the States 
 was presented to us it was the Republican party 
 which affirmed its perpetuation. I open no 
 wounds, nor do I resurrect any bad memories in 
 stating this as an undeniable fact. When you 
 and I, my friends, and that vast body of men, 
 who, having declared in favor of preserving the
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 363 
 
 Union, were compelled to resort to the last 
 dread measure the arbitrament of war we did 
 so under the call of the Republican party. Many 
 of us had been educated by our fathers in the 
 Democratic school of politics, and many of us 
 were acting with that party at the time the issue 
 of war was presented to us. 
 
 " For years the Democratic party had wielded 
 the destinies of our Government and had served 
 its purpose under the narrower views of an ideal 
 Republic, which then existed. But the matrix of 
 time has developed a new child of progress which 
 saw the glory of day under the name of the 
 Republican party. Its birth announced the con- 
 ception of a higher, broader principle of human 
 government than had been entertained by our 
 forefathers. But few of us, perhaps none, took in 
 the full dimensions of the coming fact at that early 
 day. It broke upon us all gradually, like the 
 light of the morning sun as he rises in the misty 
 dawn above the sleepy mountain's top. At length 
 it came in full blaze, and for the first time in the 
 history of our Republic we began to give genuine 
 vitality to the declaration of 1776, 'that all men 
 are created equal,' and entitled to the inalienable 
 rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 
 
 "The Republican party was the unquestionable 
 agency which bore these gifts to a waiting age, 
 and it was the Democratic idea which disputed 
 their value, first upon the field of battle, and sub-
 
 364 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAINK. 
 
 sequently, and up to this moment, at the polling 
 places of the country. The Republican party, 
 then, repsesents the latest fruition of governmental 
 progress, and is destined to survive upon the 
 theory that the strong outlives the weak, until the 
 development of principles still more advanced 
 shall compel it to measure its step with the march 
 of the age, or go to the wall as an instrument 
 which has fulfilled its destiny. So long as the 
 Democratic party shall cling, either in an open or 
 covert manner, to the traditions and policy 
 belonging to an expired era of our development, 
 just so long will the Republican party be charged 
 with the administration of our Government. 
 
 " In making this arraignment of the Democracy, 
 my friends, I appeal to no passions nor reopen 
 settled questions. I but utter the calm, sober 
 words of truth. I say that until every State in 
 this broad and beneficent Union shall give free 
 recognition to the civil and political rights of the 
 humblest of its citizens, whatever his color ; until 
 protection to American citizens follows the flag at 
 home and abroad ; until the admirable monetary 
 system established by the Republican party shall 
 be placed beyond danger of subversion ; until 
 American labor and industry shall be protected 
 by wise and equitable laws, so as to give full scope 
 to our immense resources and place every man 
 upon the plane to which he is entitled by reason 
 of his capacity and worth ; until education shall
 
 CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICING. 365 
 
 be as general as our civilization; until we shall 
 have established a wise American policy that will 
 not only preserve peace with other nations, but 
 will cause every American citizen to honor his 
 government at home and every civilized nation to 
 respect our flag ; until the American people shall 
 permanently establish a thoroughly economic sys- 
 tem upon the American idea which will preserve 
 and foster their own interests, uninfluenced by 
 English theories or " Cobden Clubs," and until 
 it is conceded beyond subsequent revocation that 
 this government exists upon the basis of a self- 
 sustaining, self-preserving nation, and the fatal 
 doctrine of "Independent States Sovereignty," 
 upon which the civil war was founded, shall be 
 stamped as a political heresy, out of which con- 
 tinued revolution is born and wholly incompatible 
 with that idea of a republic, the Republican party 
 will have much work to do.and an unfulfilled mis- 
 sion to perform. 
 
 "The standard-bearer of the party in the ensu- 
 ing campaign is the Hon. James G. Elaine, known 
 throughout the land as one of its truest and ablest 
 representatives. He has been called to this posi- 
 tion by the voice of the people, in recognition of 
 his especial fitness for the trust and in admiration 
 of the surprising combination of brilliancy, cour- 
 age, faithfulness, persistency and research that 
 has made him one of the most remarkable figures 
 which has appeared upon the forum of statescraft
 
 366 LIFE OF JAMES G. BLAtNE. 
 
 in any period of this country ; that such a man 
 should have enemies and detractors is as natural 
 as that our best fruits should be infested with 
 parasites or that there should exist small and envi- 
 ous minds which seek to belittle that which they 
 can never hope to imitate or equal ; and that he 
 shall triumph over these and lead the Republican 
 hearts to another victory in November is as cer- 
 tain as the succession of the seasons or the rolling 
 of the spheres in their courses. Gentlemen, again 
 I thank you for this visit of congratulation and 
 extend to you, one and all, my grateful acknowl- 
 edgments." 
 
 General Logan was frequently interrupted with 
 applause, particularly enthusiastic at his reference 
 to our reunited country, greater, grander than 
 before ; the mission of the Republican party to 
 preserve peace with foreign nations and make our 
 flag everywhere respected, and to Mr. Elaine as 
 the standard-bearer of the party. The speech- 
 making was continued to a late hour. Among 
 the orators, who were all ex-soldiers, were Sena- 
 tors Plumb and Harrison, General Cutcheon, of 
 Michigan ; General Nathan GofF, of West Vir- 
 ginia ; Hon. A. H. Pettibone, of Tennessee, and 
 General T. M. Bayne, of Pennsylvania.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NOTIFICATION OF THE NOMINEES. 
 
 AT an early hour on the morning of Saturday, 
 June 2ist, the streets of Augusta, Me., began to 
 assume a lively appearance, and long before the 
 hour set for the committee appointed by the 
 National Convention to notify Mr. Elaine of his 
 nomination to the Presidential candidacy of the 
 Republican party to perform that duty, a consid- 
 erable crowd of citizens collected around the 
 Augusta House to gaze upon the members of 
 this distinguished body. 
 
 Promptly at eleven o'clock the national com- 
 mittee of notification proceeded in a body to Mr. 
 Elaine's residence, where they were received by 
 Mrs. Elaine. As the day was very warm, and 
 the rooms of the mansion were crowded almost 
 to suffocation, it was suggested that the presenta- 
 tion of the addresses be made upon the lawn. 
 Accordingly, the committee and guests proceeded 
 to a well-shaded portion of the grounds, where a 
 circle was formed and all present stood with 
 uncovered heads, making an impressive scene, 
 the rustling of spreading branches of great elms 
 
 367
 
 368 I.IFI: OF JAMKS (i. IU.AIXK. 
 
 and the buzzing of insects being the only sounds 
 to disturb the stillness. 
 
 When all was in readiness Mr. Elaine was 
 escorted to the lawn, where he stood within the 
 arc of the semi-circle, General Henderson then 
 stepped forward and presented the address of the 
 committee. Reading from manuscript, he spoke 
 as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Elaine, your nomination for the office of the Presi- 
 dent of the United States by the National Republican 
 Convention recently assembled at Chicago is already 
 known to you. The gentlemen before you, constituting 
 the committee composed of one member from each State 
 and Territory of the country, and one from the District 
 of Columbia, now come, as the accredited organ of that 
 convention, to give you formal notice of nomination and 
 request your acceptance thereof. It is, of course, known 
 to you that, beside your own, several other names,among 
 the most honored in the councils of the Republican party, 
 were presented by their friends as candidates for this 
 nomination. Between your friends and friends of gentle- 
 men so justly entitled to the respect and confidence of 
 their political associates, the contest was one of generous 
 rivalry, free from any taint of bitterness and equally free 
 from the reproach of injustice. 
 
 " At an early stage of the proceedings of the Convention 
 it became manifest that the Republican States, whose aid 
 must be invoked at last to insure success to the ticket, 
 earnestly desired your nomination. It was equally mani- 
 fest that the desire so earnestly expressed by delegates 
 from those States was but a truthful reflection of an irre- 
 sistible popular demand. It was not thought nor pre-
 
 NOTIFICATION OF THE NOMINEES. 369 
 
 tended that this demand had its origin in any ambitious 
 desires of your own, or in organized work of your friends, 
 but it was recognized to be what it truthfully is, a spon- 
 taneous expression by free people of love and admiration 
 of a chosen leader. No nomination would have given 
 satisfaction to every member of the party. This is not 
 to be expected in a country so extended in area and so 
 varied in interests. The nomination of Mr. Lincoln in 
 1860 disappointed so many hopes and overthrew so 
 many cherished ambitions that for a short time disaffec- 
 tion threatened to ripen in open revolt. In 1872 discon- 
 tent was so pronounced as to impel large masses of the 
 party in organized opposition to its nominees. For many 
 weeks after the nomination of General Garfield, in 1880, 
 defeat seemed almost inevitable. 
 
 " In each case the shock of disappointment was fol- 
 lowed by sober second thought. Individual preferences 
 gradually yielded to convictions of public duty. Prompt- 
 ings of patriotism finally rose superior to irritations and 
 animosities of the hour. The party in every trial has 
 grown stronger in the face of threatened danger. In ten- 
 dering you the nomination it gives us pleasure to remem- 
 ber that those great measures which furnished causes for 
 party congratulations by the late convention at Chicago, 
 and which are now crystallized into the legislation of the 
 country, measures which have strengthened and dignified 
 the nation, while they have elevated and advanced the 
 people, at all times and on all proper occasions, received 
 your earnest and valuable support. It was your good 
 fortune to aid in protecting the nation against the assaults 
 of armed treason. You were present and helped to 
 unloose the shackles of the slave. You assisted in 
 placing new guarantees of freedom in the Federal Con- 
 stitution. Your voice was potent in preserving national
 
 3 JO LIFK OF JAMES (',. HI. A INK. 
 
 faith when false theories of finance would have blasted 
 national and individual prosperity. We kindly remem- 
 ber you as the fast friend of honest money and commer- 
 cial integrity In all that pertains to security and repose 
 of capital, dignity of labor, manhood elevation and free- 
 dom of people, right of the oppressed to demand and 
 duty of the Government to afford protection, your public 
 acts have received the unqualified indorsement of popular 
 approval. But we are not unmindful of the fact that 
 parties, like individuals, cannot live on the past, however 
 splendid the record. The present is ever charged with 
 its immediate cares, and the future presses on with its 
 new duties, its perplexing responsibilities. Parties, like 
 individuals, however, that are free from stain of violated 
 faith in the past, are fairly entitled to presumption of 
 sincerity in their promises for the future. 
 
 " Among the promises made by the party in its late 
 convention at Chicago are economy and purity of admin- 
 istration ; protection of citizens, native and naturalized, 
 at home and abroad ; the prompt restoration of the navy ; 
 a wise reduction of surplus revenue, relieving the tax- 
 payers without injuring the laborer; preservation of 
 public lands for actual settlers ; import duties, when 
 necessary at all, to be levied, not for revenue only, but for 
 the double purpose of revenue and protection ; regulation 
 of internal commerce; settlement of international differ- 
 ences by peaceful arbitration, but coupled with the 
 reassertion and maintenance of the Monroe doctrine as 
 interpreted by the fathers of the republic ; perseverance 
 in the good work of civil service reform, to the end that 
 dangers to free institutions which lurk in power of 
 official patronage may be wisely and effectually avoided ; 
 honest currency based on coin of intrinsic value, adding 
 strength to the public credit and giving renewed vitality
 
 NOTIFICATION OF THE NOMINEES. 371 
 
 to every branch of American industry. Mr. Elaine, dur- 
 ing the last twenty-three years the Republican party has 
 builded a new republic a republic far more splendid 
 than that originally designed by our fathers. Its pro- 
 portions, already grand, may yet be enlarged ; its 
 foundations may yet be strengthened and its columns be 
 adorned with beauty more resplendent still. To you, as 
 its architect in chief, will soon be assigned this grateful 
 work." 
 
 During this address Mr. Elaine stood under a 
 shady elm, his arms folded across his chest and 
 his eyes intently fixed on the ground. At the 
 conclusion his son, Walker Elaine, stepped 
 forward and handed him a manuscript, from which 
 he read the following reply: 
 
 " Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the National 
 Committee : I receive not without deep sensibility 
 your official notice of the action of the National 
 Convention already brought to my knowledge by 
 the public press. I appreciate more profoundly 
 than I can express the honor which is implied in. 
 the nomination for the Presidency by the Repub- 
 lican party of the nation, speaking through the 
 authoritative voice of duly accredited delegates. 
 To be selected as a candidate by such an 
 assemblage from lists of eminent statesmen whose 
 names were presented fills me with embarrassment. 
 I can only express my gratitude for so signal an 
 honor, and my desire to prove worthy of the great 
 trust reposed in me, In accepting the nomination,
 
 37^ LIKE OK JAMES G. HLAINE. 
 
 as I now do, I am impressed, I am also oppressed, 
 with the sense of the labor and the responsibility 
 which attach to my position. The burden is 
 lightened, however, by the host of earnest men 
 who support my candidacy, many of whom add, 
 as does your honorable committee, cheer of 
 personal friendship to the pledge of political fealty. 
 More formal acceptance will naturally be expected, 
 and will in due season be communicated. It 
 may, however, not be inappropriate at this time 
 to say that I have already made a careful study of 
 the principles announced by the National Conven- 
 tion, and that in whole and in detail they have my 
 heartiest sympathy and meet my unqualified 
 approval. Apart from your official errand, 
 gentlemen, I am extremely happy to welcome 
 you all to my house. With many of you I have 
 already shared duties of public service, and have 
 enjoyed most cordial friendship. I trust your 
 journey from all parts of this great Republic has 
 been agreeable, and that during your stay in 
 Maine you will feel you are not among strangers, 
 but with friends. Invoking blessings of God upon 
 the great .cause which we jointly represent, let us 
 trust to the future, without fear and with manly 
 hearts." 
 
 At the conclusion of Mr. Elaine's reply, the 
 members of the committee were introduced to 
 him individually, and an hour was spent in social 
 informal converse. The members of the commit-
 
 NOTIFICATION OF THE NOMINEES. 373 
 
 tee then repaired to the residence of Colonel H. 
 S. Osgood, where they were entertained at lunch, 
 and at one o'clock they left for Portland. The 
 'committee arrived at Portland shortly after three 
 o'clock, and were received by a delegation of the 
 citizens' committee and escorted to the Falmouth 
 Hotel in carriages. At a later hour they were 
 driven about the city. In the evening there was 
 a mass meeting at the City Hall to greet them, 
 after which they took a special train for Boston, 
 whence they started southward to meet the nomi- 
 nee for the Vice-Presidency, and to discharge the 
 official duty due in his case. 
 
 At noon on Tuesday, June 24th, the National 
 Committee of Notification met in a parlor of the 
 Arlington Hotel, at Washington, to prepare the 
 formal address to General Logan. Mr. Meldrum, 
 of Wyoming, was chosen secretary, and the com- 
 mittee, after reading and accepting an address 
 prepared by the chairman, sent word to General 
 Logan that they would wait upon him immediately. 
 The messenger having returned with the reply 
 that General Logan was ready to receive them, the 
 committee proceeded to his house. 
 
 The General stood in the middle of the room, 
 Mrs. Logan at his right hand, and w ? as introduced 
 to the members of the committee by the chairman. 
 When this ceremohy had been performed, the com- 
 pany arranged themselves in a circle around the 
 room to hear the address. General Logan stood
 
 374 LIFE OF JAMES G. ELAINE. 
 
 leaning with one hand upon a table, and Mrs. 
 Logan, who was the only lady present, stood 
 opposite, her face radiant and her head nodding 
 assent to the emphasized parts of the speech 
 delivered by the chairman. Mr. Henderson read 
 as follows : 
 
 " Senator Logan : The gentlemen present constitute a 
 committee of the Republican Convention recently assem- 
 bled at Chicago, charged with the duty of communicating 
 to you the formal notice of your nomination by that con- 
 vention as a candidate for Vice President of the United 
 States. You are not unaware of the fact that your name 
 was presented to the Convention and urged by a large 
 number of the delegates as a candidate for President. 
 So soon, however, as it became apparent that Mr. Blaine, 
 your colleague on the ticket, was the choice of the party 
 for that high office, your friends, with those of other 
 competitors, promptly yielded their individual preferences 
 to this manifest wish of the majority. In tendering you 
 this nomination we are able to assure you it was made 
 without opposition, and with an enthusiasm seldom wit- 
 nessed in the history of nominating conventions. 
 
 " We are gratified to know that in a career of great use- 
 fulness and distinction you have most effectively aided in 
 the enactment of those measures of legislation and of 
 constitutional reform in which the Convention found 
 special cause for hearty congratulation. The principles 
 enunciated in the platform adopted will be recognized by 
 you as the same which have so long governed and con- 
 trolled your political conduct. The pledges made by 
 the party find guaranty of performance in the fidelity 
 with which you have heretofore discharged every trust
 
 NOTIFICATION OF THE NOMINEES. 375 
 
 confided to your keeping. In your election the people 
 of this country will furnish new proof of the excellence of 
 our institutions. Without wealth, without help from 
 others, without any resources, except those of the heart, 
 conscience, intellect, energy and courage, you have won 
 a high place in the world's history and secured the con- 
 fidence and affection of your countrymen. Being one of 
 the people, your sympathies are with the people. In 
 civil life your chief care has been to better their condi- 
 tion, to secure their rights and to perpetuate their liber- 
 ties. 
 
 " When the government was threatened by armed treason 
 you entered its service as a private, became a commander 
 of armies and are now the idol of the citizen soldiers of 
 the republic. Such, in the judgment of your party, is 
 the candidate it has selected, and in behalf of that party 
 we ask you to accept its nomination." 
 
 After a brief interval, General Logan turned to 
 the table, took up a few sheets of manuscript and 
 read his reply as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the Committee : I 
 receive your visit with pleasure and accept with gratitude 
 the sentiments you have so generously expressed in the 
 discharge of the duty with which you have been entrusted 
 by the National Republican Convention. Intending to 
 address you a formal communication shortly in accord- 
 ance with the recognized usage, it would be out of place 
 to detain you at this time with remarks which properly 
 belong to the official utterances of a letter of acceptance. 
 I may be permitted to say, however, that though I did 
 not seek the nomination of Vice President, I accept it as 
 a trust reposed in me by the Republican party, to the
 
 3/6 LIFE OK JAM US G. BLAINE. 
 
 advancement of whose broad policy upon all questions 
 connected with the progress of our government and our 
 people I have dedicated my best energies ; and with this 
 acceptance I may properly signify my approval of the 
 platform of principles adopted by the Convention. I am 
 deeply sensible of the honor conferred upon me by my 
 friends so unanimously tendering me this nomination, and 
 I sincerely thank them for this tribute. lam not unmind- 
 ful of the great responsibilities attaching to the office and 
 if elected I shall enter upon the performance of its duties 
 with the firm conviction that he who has such a unani- 
 mous support of his party friends as the circumstances 
 connected with the nomination and your own words, Mr. 
 Chairman, indicate, and consequently such a wealth of 
 counsel to "draw upon, cannot fail in the proper discharge 
 of the duties committed to him. I tender you my thanks, 
 Mr. Chairman, for the kind expressions you have made, 
 and I offer you and your fellow committeemen my most 
 cordial greeting." 
 
 When General Logan had concluded the chair- 
 man stepped forward and shook him by the hand, 
 as did the other members of the committee, and 
 mutual congratulations were exchanged. Mrs. 
 Logan warmly thanked Chairman Henderson for 
 the sentiments conveyed in his address. The 
 members of the committee then took their leave, 
 with the exception of a few, who remained in con- 
 versation with the General and his wife.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 
 
 A CANDIDATE'S letter of acceptance is justly 
 deemed a matter of momentous importance. It 
 is an utterance made in full view of all the facts 
 in the case. Omissions of valuable points, or 
 unhappy statements of any points, are damaging 
 beyond recall. No wonder, therefore, that both 
 the nominees of the Republican party took ample 
 time to prepare for this ordeal of a written and 
 authoritative acceptance of the posts tendered. 
 
 As these sheets go to press, the important 
 documents are not yet made public. All fore- 
 shadowings of their import are presumptive, 
 perhaps visionary ; but Mr. Elaine's letter, it is said 
 by those who are familiar with the proposed scope 
 of that important document, will be one of the 
 most comprehensive, spirited and appropriate 
 papers of the kind ever given to the public. It is 
 understood that it will anticipate the great doc- 
 trines of administration which would be applied, 
 in event of success, to National affairs, and par- 
 ticularly with reference to the stimulation and 
 establishment of wider fields for commercial and 
 industrial enterprise and the promulgation of a 
 
 377
 
 378 LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 
 
 foreign policy which would be in its highest and 
 broadest sense American, and a home policy both 
 vigorous and progressive, on the one hand mind- 
 ful of every established interest of the people, and 
 on the other aiming at more extended develop- 
 ment. In a word, the position of the standard- 
 bearer of the Republican party will be essentially 
 American. His aim will evidently be to place the 
 party under his leadership upon the platform of 
 American destiny in the fullest sense of the term, 
 commercial, mercantile, industrial, social, eco- 
 nomic and diplomatic, and in contradistinction to 
 the domination of principles of an economic and 
 social nature, essentially un-American and Eng- 
 lish. It may force the issue of American destiny 
 versus English influence. It is apparent that the 
 letter will draw the lines of National and individ- 
 ual interest sharply, and will result in a campaign 
 in which the people will have full scope for that 
 discriminating judgment which of late years has 
 so largely characterized the public verdict on 
 questions involving the public weal. 
 
 General Logan's letter of acceptance will go 
 beyond the usual limits of a mere formal recogni- 
 tion of the honor conferred upon him by the Con- 
 vention. It has often happened that the second 
 place has been filled by men of inferior calibre or 
 of a second-rate place in National matters. The 
 long association of General Logan with public af- 
 fairs warrant him in treating his nomination as an
 
 LETTERS OF ACCEPTANCE. 
 
 379 
 
 occasion for observations upon public questions, 
 and he is capable of such discussion. Clear- 
 headed and true-hearted, he clarifies and bright- 
 ens whatever he grasps. 
 
 It is expected also that both candidates will 
 enforce their letters by their deeds. Both are 
 able organizers, speakers, and workers, and if 
 the prophecy that they will "make things hum" 
 is not realized, it will not be for lack of power in 
 either of the candidates.
 
 SKETCHES 
 
 ALL 'THK RRKSIDKNTS 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 381
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS 
 A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE NATION'S HISTORY. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 
 FIRST President of the United States, was 
 born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, 
 on the 22d of February, 1732. He was 
 the son of Augustine Washington, a wealthy 
 planter, and his second wife, Mary Ball. John 
 Washington, the great-grandfather of the illus- 
 trious subject of this sketch, emigrated from Eng- 
 land and settled in Virginia about 1657. George 
 Washington's father died when he was in his 
 
 o 
 
 eleventh year, leaving him in the care of his 
 mother, a woman of marked strength of charac- 
 ter. She was worthy of her trust. From her he 
 acquired that self-restraint, love of order, and 
 strict regard for justice and fair dealing, which, 
 with his inherent probity and truthfulness, formed 
 the basis of a character rarely equaled for its 
 simple, yet commanding nobleness. 
 
 Apart from his mother's training, the youthful 
 Washington received only the ordinary country- 
 
 385
 
 3S6 
 
 OCA 1 FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 school education of the time, never having attended 
 college, or taken instruction in the ancient lan- 
 guages. He had no inclination for any but the 
 most practical studies, but in these he was remark- 
 ably precocious. When barely sixteen Lord Fair- 
 fax, who had become greatly interested in the 
 promising lad, engaged him to survey his vast 
 estates lying in the wilderness west of the Blue 
 Ridge. So satisfactory was his performance of 
 this perilous and difficult task, that, on its comple- 
 tion, he was appointed Public Surveyor. This 
 office he held for three years, acquiring consider- 
 able pecuniary benefits, as well as a knowledge 
 of the country, which was of value to him in his 
 subsequent military career. 
 
 When only nineteen, Washington was appointed 
 Military Inspector of one of the districts into which 
 Virginia was then divided. In November, 1753, 
 he was sent by Governor Dinwiddie on a mission 
 to the French posts, near the Ohio River, to ascer- 
 tain the designs of France in that quarter. It was 
 a mission of hardship and peril, performed with 
 rare prudence, sagacity, and resolution. Its bril- 
 liant success laid the foundation of his fortunes. 
 "From that time," says Irving, "Washington was 
 the rising hope of Virginia." 
 
 Of Washington's services in the resulting war, 
 we cannot speak in detail. An unfortunate mili- 
 tary expedition to the frontier was followed by a 
 campaign under Braddock, whom he accompanied
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 as aid-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, in his 
 march against Fort Duquesne. That imprudent 
 General, scorning the advice of his youthful aid, 
 met disastrous defeat and death. In the battle, 
 Washington's coat was pierced by four bullets. 
 His bravery and presence of mind alone saved 
 the army from total destruction. 
 
 Washington, on his return, was appointed com- 
 mander-in-chief of all the troops of the colony, 
 then numbering about two thousand men. This 
 was in 1755, when he was but little more than 
 twenty-three years of age. Having led the Vir- 
 ginia troops in Forbes' expedition in 1758, by 
 which Fort Duquesne was captured, he resigned 
 his commission, and, in January, 1759, married 
 Mrs. Martha Custis (nee Dandridge), and settled 
 down at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, which 
 estate he had inherited from his elder brother 
 Lawrence, and to which he added until it reached 
 some eight thousand acres. 
 
 The fifteen years following his marriage were, 
 to Washington, years of such happiness as is 
 rarely accorded to mortals. It was the halcyon 
 period of his life. His home was the centre of a 
 generous hospitality, where the duties of a busy 
 planter and of a Judge of the County Court were 
 varied by rural enjoyments and social intercourse. 
 He managed his estates with prudence and econ- 
 omy. He slurred over nothing, and exhibited, 
 even then, that rigid adherence to system and
 
 ^S8 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 accuracy of detail which subsequently marked his 
 performance of his public duties. 
 
 In the difficulties which presently arose between 
 Great Britain and her American Colonies, Wash- 
 ington sympathized deeply with the latter, and 
 took an earnest, though not specially prominent 
 part in those movements which finally led to the 
 War of Independence. In the first general Con- 
 gress of the Colonies, which met in Philadelphia, 
 on the 5th of September, 1774, we find the name 
 of Washington among the Virginia Delegates. 
 As to the part he took in that Congress, we can 
 only judge from a remark made by Patrick Henry, 
 also a Delegate : " Colonel Washington," said the 
 great orator, "was undoubtedly the greatest man 
 on that floor, if you speak of solid information and 
 sound judgment." 
 
 In the councils of his native province, we also 
 get glimpses of his calm and dignified presence. 
 And he is ever on the side of the Colonies mod- 
 erate, yet resolute, hopeful of an amicable adjust- 
 ment of difficulties, yet advocating measures look- 
 ing to a final appeal to arms. 
 
 At length the storm broke. The Battle of 
 Lexington called the whole country to arms. 
 While in the East the rude militia of New Eng- 
 land beleaguered Boston with undisciplined but 
 stern determination, Congress, in May, 1775, met 
 a second time in Philadelphia. A Federal Union 
 was formed and an army called for. As chair-
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. ogg 
 
 man of the various Committees on Military Affairs, 
 Washington drew up most of the rules and regu- 
 lations of the army, and devised measures for 
 defense. The question now arose By whom 
 was the army to be led ? Hancock, of Massa- 
 chusetts, was ambitious of the place. Sectional 
 jealousies showed themselves. Happily, how- 
 ever, Johnson, of Maryland, rising in his seat, 
 nominated Washington. The election was by 
 ballot, and unanimous. Modestly expressing sin- 
 cere doubts as to his capability, Washington 
 accepted the position with thanks, but refused to 
 receive any salary. " I will keep an exact account 
 of my expenses," he said. " These I doubt not 
 Congress will discharge. That is all I desire." 
 
 On the 1 5th of June he received his commis- 
 sion. Writing a tender letter to his wife, he 
 rapidly prepared to start on the following day 
 to the army before Boston. He was now in the 
 full vigor of manhood, forty-three years of age, 
 tall, stately, of powerful frame and commanding 
 presence. " As he sat his horse with manly 
 grace," says Irving, "his military bearing de- 
 lighted every eye, and wherever he went the air 
 rung with acclamations." 
 
 On his way to the army, Washington met the 
 tidings of the Battle of Bunker Hill. When told 
 how bravely the militia had acted, a load seemed 
 lifted from his heart. " The liberties of the coun- 
 try are safe !" he exclaimed. On the 2d of July
 
 39O OUIi FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 he took command of the troops, at Cambridge, 
 Mass., the entire force then numbering about 
 1 5,000 men. It was not until March, 1776, that 
 the siege of Boston ended in the withdrawal of 
 the British forces. Washington's admirable con- 
 duct of this siege drew forth the enthusiastic ap- 
 plause of the nation. Congress had a gold medal 
 struck, bearing the effigy of Washington as the 
 Deliverer of Boston. 
 
 Hastening to defend New York from threat- 
 
 D 
 
 ened attack, Washington there received, on the 
 9th of July, 1776, a copy of the "Declaration of 
 Independence," adopted by Congress five days 
 previously. On the 27th of the following month 
 occurred the disastrous battle of Lon^ Island, the 
 
 o 
 
 misfortunes of which were retrieved, however, 
 by Washington's admirable retreat, one of the 
 most brilliant achievements of the war. Again 
 defeated at White Plains, he was compelled to 
 retire across New Jersey. On the 7th of De- 
 cember he passed to the west side of the Dela- 
 ware, at the head of a dispirited army of less than 
 four thousand effective men. many of them with- 
 out shoes, and leaving tracks of blood in the 
 snow. This was the darkest period of the war. 
 But suddenly, as if inspired, Washington, in the 
 midst of a driving storm, on Christmas night re- 
 crossing the Delaware, now filled with floating 
 ice, gained in rapid succession the brilliant vic- 
 tories of Trenton and Princeton, thus changing
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 the entire aspect of affairs. Never were victories 
 better timed. The waning hopes of the people 
 in their cause and their commander were at once 
 restored as if by magic. 
 
 It is not possible, in this necessarily brief 
 sketch, to give the details of the agonizing strug- 
 gle in which Washington and his little army were 
 now involved. Superior numbers and equip- 
 ments often inflicted upon him disasters which 
 would have crushed a less resolute spirit. 
 Cheered, however, by occasional glimpses of vic- 
 tory, and wisely taking advantage of what his 
 troops learned in hardship and defeat, he was at 
 length enabled, by one sagacious and deeply 
 planned movement, to bring the war virtually to 
 a close in the capture of the British army of 
 7,000 men, under Cornwallis, at Yorktown, on 
 the i gth of October, 1781. 
 
 The tidings of the surrender of Cornwallis 
 
 o 
 
 filled the country with joy. The lull in the ac- 
 tivity of both Congress and the people was not 
 viewed with favor by Washington. It was a 
 period of peril. Idleness in the army fostered 
 discontents there, which at one time threatened 
 the gravest mischief. It was only by the utmost 
 exertion that Washington induced the malcon- 
 tents to turn a deaf ear to those who were at- 
 tempting, as he alleged, " to open the flood-gates 
 of civil discord, and deluge our rising empire 
 with blood."
 
 OUK FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 On September 3d, 1 783, a treaty of peace was 
 signed at Paris, by which the complete indepen- 
 dence of the United States was secured. On the 
 23d of December following, Washington for- 
 mally resigned his command. The very next 
 morninof he hastened to his beloved Mount Ver- 
 
 o 
 
 non, arriving there that evening, in time to enjoy 
 the festivities which there greeted him. 
 
 Washington was not long permitted to enjoy 
 his retirement. Indeed, his solicitude for the per- 
 petuity of the political fabric he had helped to 
 raise he could not have shaken off if he would. 
 Unconsciously, it might have been, by his letters 
 to his old friends still in public life, he continued 
 to exercise a powerful influence on national affairs. 
 He was one of the first to propose a remodeling 
 of the Articles of Confederation, which were now 
 acknowledged to be insufficient for their purpose. 
 At length, a convention of delegates from the 
 several States, to form a new Constitution, met at 
 Philadelphia, in May, 1787. Washington pre- 
 sided over its session, which was long and stormy. 
 After four months of deliberation was formed 
 that Constitution under which, with some subse- 
 quent amendments, we now live. 
 
 When the new Constitution was finally ratified, 
 Washington was called to the Presidency by the 
 unanimous voice of the people. In April, 1 789, 
 he set out from Mount Vernon for New York, 
 then the seat qf Government, to be inaugurated.
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 "His progress," says Irving, " was a continuous 
 ovation. The ringing of bells and the roaring of 
 cannon proclaimed his course. Old and young, 
 women and children, thronged the highways to 
 bless and welcome him." His inauguration took 
 place April 3Oth, 1 789, before an immense multi- 
 tude. 
 
 The eight years of Washington's Administra- 
 tion were years of trouble and difficulty. The 
 two parties which had sprung up the Federalist 
 and the Republican were greatly embittered 
 against each other, each charging the other with 
 the most unpatriotic designs. No other man than 
 Washington could have carried the country safely 
 through so perilous a period. His prudent, firm, 
 yet conciliatory spirit, aided by the love and ven- 
 eration with which the people regarded him, kept 
 down insurrection and silenced discontent. 
 
 That he passed through this trying period 
 safely cannot but be a matter of astonishment. 
 The angry partisan contests, to which we have 
 referred, were of themselves sufficient to dis- 
 hearten any common man. Even Washington was 
 distrustful of the event, so fiercely were the par- 
 tisans of both parties enlisted the Federalists 
 clamoring for a stronger government, the Repub- 
 licans for additional checks on the power already 
 intrusted to the Executive. Besides, the Revolu- 
 tion then raging in France became a source of 
 contention. The Federalists sided with England,
 
 394 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 who was bent on crushing that Revolution; the 
 Republicans, on the other hand, sympathized 
 deeply with the French people : so that between 
 them both, it was with extreme difficulty that the 
 President could prevent our young Republic, bur- 
 dened with debt, her people groaning under taxes 
 necessarily heavy, and with finances, commerce, 
 and the industrial arts in a condition of chaos, 
 from being dragged into a fresh war with either 
 France or England. 
 
 But, before retiring from the Presidency, Wash- 
 ington had the happiness of seeing many of the 
 difficulties from which he had apprehended so much, 
 placed in a fair way of final adjustment. A finan- 
 cial system was developed which lightened the 
 burden of public debt and revived the drooping 
 energies of the people. The country progressed 
 rapidly. Immigrants flocked to our shores, and 
 the regions west of the Alleofhanies bep-an to fill 
 
 o o o 
 
 up. New States claimed admission and were 
 received into the Union Vermont, in 1791 ; Ken- 
 tucky, in 1792 ; and Tennessee, in 1796 ; so that, 
 before the close of Washington's second term, the 
 original thirteen States had increased to sixteen. 
 Having- served two Presidential terms, Wash- 
 
 O 
 
 inc[ton, declining another election, returned once 
 
 O O 
 
 more to Mount Vernon, " that haven of repose to 
 which he had so often turned a wistful eye," bear- 
 ing with him the love and gratitude of his country- 
 men, to whom, in his memorable " Farewell Ad-
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 dress," he bequeathed a legacy of practical politi- 
 cal wisdom which it will be well for them to 
 remember and profit by. In this immortal docu- 
 ment he insisted that the union of the States was 
 "a main pillar" in the real independence of the 
 people. He also entreated them to " steer clear 
 of any permanent alliances with any portion of 
 the foreign world." 
 
 At Mount Vernon Washington found constant 
 occupation in the supervision of his various 
 estates. It was while taking his usual round on 
 horseback to look after his farms, that, on the 1 2th 
 of December, 1799, he encountered a cold, winter 
 storm. He reached home chill and damp. The 
 next day he had a sore throat, with some hoarse- 
 ness. By the morning of the I4th he could 
 scarcely swallow. " I find I am going," said he to 
 a friend. " I believed from the first that the 
 attack would be fatal." That nio-ht, between ten 
 
 o ' 
 
 and eleven, he expired, without a struggle or a 
 sigh, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, his disease 
 being acute laryngitis. Three days afterward 
 his remains were deposited in the family tombs at 
 Mount Vernon, where they still repose. 
 
 Washington left a reputation on which there is 
 no stain. " His character," says Irving, " possessed 
 fewer inequalities, and a rarer union of virtues 
 than perhaps ever fell to the lot of one. man. 
 * * * It seems as if Providence had endowed 
 him in a pre-eminent degree with the qualities
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 requisite to fit him for the high destiny he was 
 called upon to fulfill." 
 
 In stature Washington was six feet two inches 
 in height, well proportioned, and firmly built. 
 His hair was brown, his eyes blue and set far 
 apart. From boyhood he was famous for great 
 strength and agility. Jefferson pronounced him 
 "the best horseman of his age, and the most grace- 
 ful figure that could be seen on horseback." He 
 was scrupulously neat, gentlemanly, and punctual, 
 and always dignified and reserved. 
 
 In the resolution passed upon learning of his 
 death, the National House of Representatives 
 described him for the first time in that well-known 
 phrase, " First in war, first in peace, and first in 
 the hearts of his countrymen," a tribute which 
 succeding generations have continued to bestow 
 upon Washington without question or doubt. By 
 common consent to him is accorded as pre-emi- 
 nently appropriate the title, " Pater Patriae," the 
 " Father of his Country." 
 
 Of Washington, Lord Brougham says : " It will 
 be the duty of the historian and the sage, in all 
 ages, to omit no occasion of commemorating this 
 illustrious man ; and until time shall be no more 
 will a test of the progress our race has made in 
 wisdom and virtue be derived from the veneration 
 paid to the immortal name of Washington."
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, 
 
 SECOND President of the United States, 
 was born at Braintree, now Quincy, Mass., 
 October i gth, 1 735. He was the eldest son 
 of John Adams, a farmer, and Susanna Boylston. 
 Graduating from Harvard in 1755, he studied law, 
 defraying his expenses by teaching. In 1764, hav- 
 ing meanwhile been admitted to the bar, he mar- 
 ried Miss Abigail Smith, a lady whose energy of 
 character contributed largely to his subsequent 
 advancement. 
 
 As early as 1761, we find young Adams look- 
 ing forward, with prophetic vision, to American 
 Independence. When the memorable Stamp Act 
 was passed in 1765, he joined heart and soul in 
 opposition to it. A series of resolutions which he 
 drew up against it and presented to the citizens of 
 Braintree was adopted also by more than forty 
 other towns in the Province. He took the ad- 
 vanced grounds that it was absolutely void 
 Parliament having no right to tax the Colonies. 
 
 In 1 768 he removed to Boston. The rise of the 
 young lawyer was now rapid, and he was the lead- 
 ing man in many prominent cases. When, in Sep- 
 tember, 1774, the first Colonial Congress met, at 
 Philadelphia, Adams was one of the five Delegates 
 from Massachusetts. In that Congress he took 
 
 5 
 
 a prominent part He it was who, on the 6th of
 
 40O O( -'K FORMER I^RESIDENTS. 
 
 May, 1776, boldly advanced upon the path of 
 Independence, by moving " the adoption of such 
 measures as would best conduce to the happiness 
 and safety of the American people." It was 
 Adams, who, a month later, seconded the resolu- 
 tion of Lee, of Virginia, " that these United States 
 are, and of right ought to be, independent." It 
 was he who uttered the famous words, " Sink or 
 swim, live or die, survive or perish, with my 
 country is my unalterable determination." He, 
 too, it was, who, with Jefferson, Franklin, Sher- 
 man, and Livingston, drew up that famous " Dec- 
 laration of Independence," which, adopted by Con- 
 gress on the 4th of July, 1776, decided a question, 
 " greater, perhaps, than ever was or will be de- 
 cided anywhere." During all these years of 
 engrossing public duty he produced many able 
 essays on the rights of the Colonies. These ap- 
 peared in the leading journals of the day and 
 exerted wide influence. The motion to prepare 
 a Declaration of Independence was opposed by a 
 strong party, to the champion of which Adams 
 made reply and Jefferson said, "John Adams was 
 the ablest advocate and champion of indepen- 
 dence on the floor of the House." 
 
 Writing to his wife on July 3d, 1776, and refer- 
 ring to the Declaration of Independence, that day 
 adopted, he forecast the manner of that day's 
 celebration by bonfires, fireworks, etc., as " the 
 great anniversary festival." During all the years
 
 c 
 r 
 o 
 
 e S 
 
 5- s:
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 of the war he was a most zealous worker and val- 
 ued counselor. After its years of gloom and 
 trial, on the 2ist of January, 1783, he assisted in 
 the conclusion of a treaty of peace, by which 
 Great Britain acknowledged the complete inde- 
 pendence of the United States. On the previous 
 October, he had achieved what he ever regarded 
 as the greatest success of his life the formation 
 
 o 
 
 of a treaty of peace and alliance with Holland, 
 which had a most important bearing on the nego- 
 tiations leading to the final adjustment with Eng- 
 land. 
 
 He was United States Minister to England from 
 1785 to 1788, and Vice-President during both the 
 terms of Washington. During these years, as 
 presiding officer of the Senate, he gave no less 
 than twenty casting votes, all of them on ques- 
 tions of great importance, and all supporting the 
 policy of the President. Mr. Adams was himself 
 inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1797, 
 having been elected over Jefferson by a small 
 majority. Thomas Pinckney was nominated for 
 the Vice-Presidency with him, they representing 
 the Federal party, but in the Electoral College 
 Thomas Jefferson received the choice and became 
 Vice-President. He retained as his Cabinet the 
 officers previously chosen by Washington. 
 
 He came into office at a critical period. The 
 conduct of the French Directory, in refusing to 
 receive our ambassadors, and in trying to injure
 
 404 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 our commerce by unjust decrees, excited intense 
 ill-feeling, and finally led to what is known as "the 
 Quasi War " with France. Congress now passed 
 the so-called "Alien and Sedition Laws," by which 
 extraordinary and, it is alleged, unconstitutional 
 powers were conferred upon the President. 
 Though the apprehended war was averted, the 
 odium of these laws effectually destroyed the pop- 
 ularity of Adams, who, on running for a second 
 term, was defeated by Mr. Jefferson, representing 
 the Republicans, who were the Democratic party 
 of that day. On the 4th of March, 1801, he re- 
 tired to private life on his farm near Quincy. His 
 course as President had brought upon him the 
 reproaches of both parties, and his days were 
 ended in comparative obscurity and neglect. He 
 lived to see his son, John Quincy Adams, in the 
 Presidential chair. 
 
 By a singular coincidence, the death of Mr. 
 Adams and that of his old political rival, Jefferson, 
 took place on the same day, and almost at the 
 same hour. Stranger still, it was on July the 4th, 
 1826, whilst bells were rincrin^ and cannon roar- 
 
 o o 
 
 ing to celebrate the fiftieth Anniversary of the 
 Declaration of Independence, their own immortal 
 production, that these two men passed away. 
 Mr. Adams was asked if he knew what day it was. 
 "Oh! yes!" he exclaimed, "It is the Fourth of 
 July. God bless it! God bless you all ! It is a 
 great and glorious day!" and soon after quietly 
 expired, in the ninety-first year of his age.
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 Mr. Adams possessed a vigorous and polished 
 intellect, and was one of the most upright of men. 
 His character was one to command respect, rather 
 than to win affection. There was a certain lack 
 of warmth in his stately courtesy which seemed 
 to forbid approach. Yet nobody, we are told, 
 could know him intimately without admiring the 
 simplicity and truth which shone in all his actions. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON, who succeeded 
 Adams as President, was born at Shadwell, 
 Albermark County, Va., April 2d, 1743. 
 Peter Jefferson, his father, was a man of great 
 force of character and of remarkably powerful 
 physique. His mother, Jane Randolph, was from 
 a most respectable English family. He was the 
 eldest of eight children. He became a classical 
 student when a mere boy, and entered college in 
 an advanced class when but seventeen years of 
 age. Having passed through college, he studied 
 law under Judge Wythe, and in 1 767 commenced 
 practice. In 1769, he was elected to the Virginia 
 Legislature. Three years later, he married Mrs. 
 Martha Skelton, a rich, handsome, and accom- 
 plished young widow, with whom he went to reside 
 in his new mansion at Monticello, near to the spot 
 where he was born. His practice at the bar grew
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 rapidly and became very lucrative, and he early 
 engaged in the political affairs of his own State. 
 For years the breach between England and her 
 Colonies had been rapidly widening. Jefferson 
 earnestly advocated the right of the latter to local 
 self-government, and wrote a pamphlet on the 
 subject which attracted much attention on both 
 sides of the Atlantic. By the spring of 1775 the 
 Colonies were in revolt. We now find Jefferson 
 in the Continental Congress the youngest mem- 
 ber save one. His arrival had been anxiously 
 awaited. He had the reputation " of a matchless 
 pen." Though silent on the floor, in committee 
 " he was prompt, frank, explicit, and decisive." 
 Early in June, 1776, a committee, with Jefferson 
 as chairman, was appointed to draw up a " Decla- 
 ration of Independence." Unanimously urged by 
 his associates to write it, he did so, Franklin and 
 Adams, only, making a few verbal alterations. 
 Jefferson has been charged with plagiarism in the 
 composition of this ever-memorable paper. Vol- 
 umes have been written on the subject; but those 
 who have investigated the closest, declare, that 
 the Mecklenburg Declaration, from which he was 
 charged with plagiarism, was not then in existence. 
 Jefferson distinctly denies having seen it. Prob- 
 ably, in preparing it, he used many of the popular 
 phrases of the time ; and hence it was that it 
 seized so quickly and so irresistibly upon the 
 public heart. It was the crystallized expression
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 of the spirit of the age. Edward Everett pro- 
 nounced this Declaration " equal to anything ever 
 born on parchment or expressed in the visible 
 signs of thought." Bancroft declares, " The heart 
 
 o O 
 
 of Jefferson in writing it, and of Congress in 
 adopting it, beat for all humanity." 
 
 Chosen a second time to Congress, Jefferson 
 declined the appointment, in order that he might 
 labor in re-organizing Virginia. He therefore 
 accepted a seat in the Legislature, where he 
 zealously applied himself to revising the funda- 
 mental laws of the State. The abolition of primo- 
 geniture and the Church establishment was the 
 result of his labors, and he was justly proud of 
 it. No more important advance could have been 
 made. It was a step from middle-age darkness 
 into the broad light of modern civilization. 
 
 In 1778, Jefferson procured the passage of a 
 law prohibiting the further importation of slaves. 
 The following year he was elected Governor, 
 succeeding Patrick Henry in this honorable posi- 
 tion, and at the close of his official term he again 
 sought the retirement of Monticello. In 1782, 
 shortly after the death of his beloved wife, he was 
 summoned to act as one of the Commissioners to 
 negotiate peace with England. He was not 
 required to sail, however ; but, taking a seat in 
 Congress, during the winter of 1783, he, who had 
 drawn up the Declaration of Independence, was 
 the first to officially announce its final triumph.
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 At the next session of Congress, he secured the 
 adoption of our present admirable system of coin- 
 age. As chairman of a committee to draft rules 
 
 o 
 
 for the government of our Northwest Territory 
 he endeavored, but without success, to secure the 
 prohibition of slavery therefrom forever. In May, 
 1 784, he was sent to Europe, to assist Adams and 
 Franklin in negotiating treaties of commerce with 
 foreign nations. Returning home in 1789, he 
 received from Washington the appointment of 
 Secretary of State, which office he resigned in 1 793. 
 He withdrew, says Marshall, " at a time when he 
 stood particularly high in the esteem of his coun- 
 trymen." His friendship for France, and his dis- 
 like of England ; his warm opposition to the 
 aggrandizement of the central power of the Gov- 
 ernment, and his earnest advocacy of every mea- 
 sure tending to enlarge popular freedom, had won 
 for him a large following, and he now stood the 
 acknowledged leader of the great and growing 
 Anti-federal party. 
 
 Washington declining a third term, Adams, as 
 we have already seen, succeeded him, Jefferson 
 becoming Vice-President. At the next election, 
 Jefferson and Burr, the Republican candidates, 
 stood highest on the list. By the election law of 
 that period, he who had the greatest number of 
 votes was to be President, while the Vice-Presi- 
 dency fell to the next highest candidate. Jeffer- 
 son and Burr having an equal number of votes,
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. . j 
 
 it remained for the House of Representatives to 
 decide which should be President. After a long 
 and heated canvass, Jefferson was chosen on the 
 thirty-sixth ballot. He was inaugurated, on the 
 4th of March, 1801, at Washington, whither the 
 Capitol had been removed a few months pre- 
 viously. In 1804, he was re-elected by an over- 
 whelming majority. At the close of his second 
 term, he retired once more to the quiet of Monti- 
 cello. 
 
 The most important public measure of Jeffer- 
 son's Administration, to the success of which he 
 directed his strongest endeavors, was the pur- 
 chase from France, for the insignificant sum of 
 $15,000,000, of the immense Territory of Louisi- 
 ana. It was during his Administration, too, that 
 the conspiracy of Burr was discovered, and 
 thwarted by the prompt and decisive action of the 
 President. Burr's scheme was a mad one to 
 break up the Union, and erect a new empire, with 
 Mexico as its seat. Jefferson is regarded as hav- 
 ing initiated the custom of removing incumbents 
 from office on political grounds alone. 
 
 From the retirement into which he withdrew at 
 the end of his second term, Jefferson never 
 emerged. His time was actively employed in 
 the management of his property and in his exten- 
 sive correspondence. In establishing- a Univer- 
 sity at Charlottesville, Jefferson took a deep in- 
 terest, devoting to it much of his time and means.
 
 4 1 4 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 He was proud of his work, and directed that the 
 words " Father of the University of Virginia " 
 should be inscribed upon his tomb. He died, 
 shortly after mid-day, on the Fourth of July, 
 1826, a few hours before his venerable friend and 
 compatriot, Adams. 
 
 Jefferson was the very embodiment of the 
 democracy he sought to make the distinctive feat- 
 ure of his party. All titles were distasteful to 
 him, even the prefix Mr. His garb and manners 
 were such that the humblest farmer was at home 
 in his society. He declared that in view of the 
 existence of slavery he " trembled for his coun- 
 try when he remembered that God is just." He 
 was of splendid physique, being six feet two and 
 a half inches in height, but well built and sinewy. 
 His hair was of a reddish brown, his countenance 
 ruddy, his eyes light hazel. Both he and his wife 
 were wealthy, but they spent freely and died in- 
 solvent, leaving but one daughter. 
 
 His moral character was of the highest order. 
 Profanity he could not endure, either in himself 
 or others. He never touched cards, or strong 
 drink in any form. He was onre of the most 
 generous of men, lavishly hospitable, and in 
 everything a thorough gentleman. Gifted with 
 an intellect far above the average, he had added 
 to it a surprising culture, which ranked him 
 among our most accomplished scholars. To 
 his extended learning, to his ardent love of lib-
 
 JAMES MADISON. , T r 
 
 erty, and to his broad and tolerant views, is due 
 much, very much, of whatever is admirable in our 
 institutions. In them we discern everywhere 
 traces of his master spirit. 
 
 JAMES MADISON. 
 
 WHEN Mr. Jefferson retired from the 
 Presidency, the country was almost on 
 the ver^e of war with Great Britain. 
 
 o 
 
 Disputes had arisen in regard to certain restric- 
 tions laid by England upon our commerce. A 
 hot discussion also came up about the right 
 claimed and exercised by the commanders of 
 English war-vessels, of searching American ships 
 and of taking from them such seamen as they 
 might choose to consider natives of Great Britain. 
 Many and terrible wrongs had been perpetrated 
 in the exercise of this alleged right. Hundreds 
 of American citizens had been ruthlessly forced 
 into the British service. 
 
 It was when the public mind was agitated by 
 such outrages, that James Madison, the fourth 
 President of the United States, was inaugurated. 
 When he took his seat, on the 4th of March, 
 1809, he lacked but a few days of being fifty-eight 
 years of age, having been born on the I5th of 
 March, 1751. His father was Colonel James 
 Madison, his mother Nellie Conway. He gradu-
 
 4! 6 OUR FORMER 
 
 ated at Princeton College, New Jersey, in 1771, 
 after which he studied law. 
 
 In his twenty-sixth year he had been a member 
 of the Convention which framed the Constitution 
 of Virginia ; in 1 780 had been elected to the 
 Continental Congress, in which he at once took a 
 commanding position ; had subsequently entered 
 the Virginia Legislature, where he co-operated 
 with his friend and neighbor, Jefferson, in the ab- 
 rogation of entail and primogeniture, and in the 
 establishment of religious freedom ; had drawn 
 up the call in answer to which the Convention to 
 Draught a Constitution for the United States met 
 at Philadelphia in 1787, and had been one of the 
 most active members of that memorable assem- 
 blage in reconciling the discordant elements of 
 
 o o 
 
 which it was composed. He had also labored 
 earnestly to secure the adoption of the new Con- 
 stitution by his native State ; had afterward en- 
 tered Congress ; and when Jefferson became 
 President, in March, 1801, had been by him ap- 
 pointed Secretary of State, a post he had declined 
 when it was vacated by Jefferson in December, 
 1793. In this important post for eight years, he 
 won the highest esteem and confidence of the 
 
 o 
 
 nation. Having been nominated by the Repub- 
 licans, he was in 1808 elected to the Presidency, 
 receiving one hundred and twenty-two electoral 
 votes, while Charles C. Pinckney, the Federal can- 
 didate, received but forty-seven.
 
 JAMES MADISON. 
 
 In 1794, he married Mrs. Dorothy Todd, a 
 young widow lady, whose bright intelligence and 
 fascinating manners were to gain her celebrity as 
 one of the most remarkable women who ever 
 presided over the domestic arrangements of the 
 Presidential Mansion. 
 
 Of a weak and delicate constitution, and with 
 the habits of a student, Mr. Madison would have 
 preferred peace to war. But even he lost patience 
 at the insults heaped upon the young Republic by 
 it ancient mother; and when, at length, on the 
 1 8th of June, 1812, Congress declared war against 
 Great Britain, he gave the declaration his official 
 sanction, and took active steps to enforce it. 
 Though disasters in the early part of the war 
 greatly strengthened the Federal party, who were 
 bitterly opposed to hostilities, the ensuing Presi- 
 dential canvass resulted in the re-election of Mr. 
 Madison by a large majority, his competitor, De 
 Witt Clinton, receiving eighty-nine electoral votes 
 to one hundred and twenty-eight for Madison. 
 On the 1 2th of August, 1814, a British army took 
 Washington, the President himself narrowly esca- 
 ping capture. The Presidential Mansion, the Cap- 
 itol, and all the public buildings were wantonly 
 burned. The i4th of December following, a treaty 
 of peace was signed at Ghent, in which, however, 
 England did not relinquish her claim to the right 
 of search. But as she has not since attempted to 
 exercise it, the question may be regarded as hav- 
 ing been finally settled by the contest.
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1817, Madison's second 
 term having expired, he withdrew to private life 
 at his paternal home of Montpelier, Orange County, 
 Va. During his administration, two new States 
 had been added to the Union, making the total 
 number at this period nineteen. The first to 
 claim admittance was Louisiana, in 1812. It was 
 formed out of the Southern portion of the vast 
 Territory, purchased, during the Presidency of 
 Jefferson, from France. Indiana the second 
 State was admitted in 1816. 
 
 After his retirement from office, Mr. Madison 
 passed nearly a score of quiet years at Montpe- 
 lier. With Jefferson, who was a not very distant 
 neighbor, he co-operated in placing the Charlottes- 
 ville University upon a substantial foundation. In 
 1829, he left his privacy to take part in the Con- 
 vention which met at Richmond to revise the 
 Constitution of the State. His death took place 
 on the 28th of June, 1836, in the eighty-fifth year 
 of his age. 
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 
 MADISON'S successor in the Presidential 
 chair was James Monroe, whose Admin- 
 istration has been called " the Era of 
 Good Feeling," from the temporary subsidence at 
 that time of party strife. He was a son of Sperice 
 Monroe, a planter. He was born on his father's
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 
 plantation in Westmoreland County, Va., on the 
 28th of April, 1758. At the age of sixteen he 
 entered William and Mary College; but when, 
 two years later, the Declaration of Independence 
 called the Colonies to arms, the young collegian, 
 dropping his books, girded on his sword, and en- 
 tered the service of his country. Commissioned 
 a lieutenant, he took part in the battles of Harlem 
 Heights and White Plains. In the attack on 
 Trenton he was wounded in the shoulder, and for 
 his bravery promoted to a captaincy. Subse- 
 quently he was attached to the staff of Lord Ster- 
 ling with the rank of major, and fought by the 
 side of Lafayette, when that officer was wounded 
 at the battle of Brandywine, and also participated 
 in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth. 
 He was afterward given a colonel's commission, 
 but, being unable to recruit a regiment, began the 
 study of law in the office of Jefferson, then Gover- 
 nor of Virginia. 
 
 When only about twenty-three years old, he 
 was elected to the Virginia Legislature. The next 
 year he was sent to Congress. On the expiration 
 of his term, having meanwhile married, in New 
 York, Miss Kortright, a young lady of great 
 intelligence and rare personal attractions, he re- 
 turned to Fredericksburg, and commenced prac- 
 tice as a lawyer. He espoused the cause of the 
 Anti-Federal or Republican party, being thor- 
 oughly democratic in his ideas, as was his eminent
 
 420 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 preceptor, Jefferson. In 1 789, he was elected to 
 the United States Senate. In i 794, he was ap- 
 pointed minister-plenipotentiary to France, but 
 recalled from his mission two years later because 
 of his 'outspoken sympathies with the republicans 
 of that country. 
 
 Shortly after his return, Monroe was elected 
 Governor of Virginia, which post he held for three 
 years (1799-1802). On the expiration of his 
 official term, he was sent to co-operate with Ed- 
 ward Livingston, then resident Minister at Paris, 
 in negotiating the treaty by which the Territory of 
 Louisiana was secured to the United States. In 
 1811, he was again elected Governor of Virginia, 
 but presently resigned to become Madison's Sec- 
 retary of State. 
 
 During the period following the capture of 
 Washington, September, i8i4-March, 1815, he 
 acted as Secretary of War, and did much to restore 
 the nation's power and credit. He continued 
 Secretary of State until March, 1817, when he 
 became President. He was chosen by the Dem- 
 ocratic party, till then known as the Republican. 
 He received one hundred and eighty-three elec- 
 toral votes, his opponent, Rufus King, receiving 
 but thirty-four votes. The violence of party spirit 
 greatly abated during his first term, and he was 
 re-elected in 1821, with but one dissenting vote 
 out of the two hundred and thirty-two cast by the 
 electoral college. On the 4th of March, 1825, he
 
 JAMES MONROE. . 2 j 
 
 retired to the quiet and seclusion of his estate at 
 Oak Hill, in Loudon County, Virginia. 
 
 During Monroe's Administration, the bound- 
 aries of the United States were considerably 
 enlarged by the purchase of Florida from Spain. 
 Five new States were also admitted into the 
 Union: Mississippi, in 1817; Illinois, in 1818; 
 Alabama, in 1819; Maine, in 1820; and Missouri, 
 in 1821. 
 
 The discussion in Congress over the admission 
 of Missouri showed the existence of a new dis- 
 turbing element in our national politics. It was 
 the question of the further extension of slavery ; 
 not so much in regard to its moral aspects as to 
 its bearing on the question of the balance of polit- 
 ical power. For a brief period two parties, one 
 in favor of and the other against admitting any 
 more Slave States, filled Congress and the country 
 with angry discussion. This was quieted for the 
 time by what is known as "the Missouri Compro- 
 mise," which restricted slavery to the territory 
 lying south of the southern boundary of Missouri. 
 
 The somewhat celebrated " Monroe Doctrine " 
 is regarded as one of the most important results 
 of Monroe's Administration. It was enunciated 
 in his message to Congress on the 2d of Decem- 
 ber, 1823, and arose out of his sympathy for the 
 new Republics then recently set up in South 
 America. In substance it was, that the United 
 States would never entangle themselves with the
 
 422 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 quarrels of Europe, nor allow Europe to interfere 
 with the affairs of this continent. 
 
 In 1830, the venerable ex-President went to 
 reside with his son-in-law, Samuel L. Gouverneur, 
 in New York, where he died in the seventy-fourth 
 year of his age, on the 4th of July, 1831, being the 
 third of our .five Revolutionary Presidents to pass 
 from earth on the anniversary of that memorable 
 day, which had contributed so largely to the 
 shaping of their destinies. 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 
 
 THE son of John Adams, our second Presi- 
 dent, and himself the sixth chief executive 
 of the Union, was born at Quincy, Mass., 
 on the nth of July, 1767. He enjoyed rare 
 opportunities for culture from his mother, who 
 was a lady of very superior talents. While yet a 
 mere boy, he twice accompanied his father to 
 Europe, and at the age of fourteen was appointed 
 private secretary to Francis Dana, then Minister 
 to Russia. Graduating from Harvard in 1 788, he 
 studied law under Theophilus Parsons, and com- 
 menced practice in Boston in 1791. In 1794, he 
 was appointed by Washington Minister to Holland. 
 In July, 1797, he married Louisa, daughter of 
 Joshua Johnson, then American Consul at London. 
 In 1797, his. father, who was then President, gave 
 him the mission to Berlin, being urged to this
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. , 2 , 
 
 recognition of his own son by Washington, who 
 pronounced the younger Adams " the most valu- 
 able public character we have abroad." 
 
 On the accession of Jefferson to the Presidency, 
 Mr. Adams was recalled from Berlin. Soon after 
 his return, however, he was elected to the United 
 States Senate, where he speedily won a command- 
 ing position, ardently supporting Jefferson's mea- 
 sures of resistance against the arrogance and 
 insolence of England in her encroachments upon 
 our commerce and in her impressment of our 
 seamen. The Legislature of Massachusetts having 
 censured him for his course, Adams resigned his 
 seat; but, in 1809, was selected by Madison to 
 represent the United States at St. Petersburg. 
 On the 24th of December, 1814, he, in conjunction 
 with Clay and Gallatin, concluded the Treaty of 
 Ghent, which closed " the Second War of Inde- 
 pendence." In 1817, he was recalled to act as 
 Secretary of State for President Monroe. 
 
 At the election for Monroe's successor, in 1824, 
 party spirit ran high. The contest was an excit- 
 ing one. Of the two hundred and sixty electoral 
 votes, Andrew Jackson received 99, John Quincy 
 Adams 84, Wm. H. Crawford 41, and Henry 
 Clay 37. As there was no choice by the people, 
 the election devolved upon the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. Here Mr. Clay gave the vote of 
 Kentucky to Adam~, and otherwise promoted his 
 cause, so that he received the votes of thirteen 
 States, and \vas elected.
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 The Administration of the younger Adams, has 
 been characterized as the purest and most 
 economical on record. Yet, during his entire 
 term, he was the objectof the most rancorous parti- 
 san assaults. He had appointed Clay as his Sec- 
 retary of State, whereat the Jackson men accused 
 them both of "bargaining and corruption," and in 
 all ways disparaged and condemned their work. 
 In his official intercourse, it was said Adams often 
 displayed " a formal coldness which froze like an 
 iceberg." This coldness of manner, along with 
 his advocacy of a high protective tariff and the 
 policy of internal improvements, and his known 
 hostility to slavery, made him many bitter enemies, 
 especially in the South, and at the close of his 
 first term he was probably the most unpopular 
 man who could have aspired to the Presidency ; 
 and yet, in his contest with Jackson at that time, 
 Adams received eighty-three electoral votes, Jack- 
 son being chosen by one hundred and seventy- 
 eight. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1829, General Jackson 
 having been elected President, Mr. Adams re- 
 tired to private life; but, in 1831, was elected to 
 the House of Representatives of the United 
 States, where he took his seat, pledged, as he said, 
 to no party. He at once became the leader of 
 that little band, so insignificant in numbers, but 
 powerful in determination and courage, who, re- 
 garding slavery as both a moral and a political
 
 JOHN Q UINC Y ADAMS. , 2 r 
 
 evil, began, in Congress, to advocate its abolition. 
 By his continual presentation of petitions against 
 slavery, he gradually yet irresistibly led the pub- 
 lic mind to familiarize itself with the idea of its 
 final extinction. To the fiery onslaughts of the 
 Southern members he opposed a cold and unim- 
 passioned front. 
 
 In 1842, to show his consistency in upholding 
 the right of petition, he presented to Congress 
 the petition of some thirty or forty over-zealous 
 anti-slavery persons for the dissolution of the 
 Union. This brought upon the venerable ex- 
 President a perfect tempest of indignation. Reso- 
 lutions to expel him were introduced ; but, after 
 eleven days of stormy discussion, they were laid 
 on the table. The intrepidity displayed by " the 
 old man eloquent " was beginning to tell. Even 
 those who most bitterly opposed his doctrines 
 were learning to respect him. When, after a 
 season of illness, he re-appeared in Congress, in 
 February, 1847, every member instinctively rose 
 in his seat to do the old man honor. On the 
 2ist of February, 1848, Mr. Adams was struck 
 down by paralysis on the floor of the House of 
 Representatives. He was taken, senseless, into 
 an ante-room. Recovering his consciousness, he 
 looked calmly around, and said: "This is the last 
 of earth: I am content." These were his last 
 words. In an apartment beneath the dome of the 
 Capitol he expired, on February 23d, in the 
 eighty-first year of his age.
 
 426 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON, 
 
 SEVENTH President of the United States, 
 was born in Mecklenburg County, North 
 Carolina, on the I5th of March, 1767. His 
 father, who was a poor Irishman, dying a few days 
 before Andrew's birth, he and his two older 
 brothers were left to the care of his mother. 
 The boys had little schooling. Andrew was a 
 rude, turbulent lad, at once vindictive and gener- 
 ous, full of mischief, but resolute, of indomitable 
 courage, and wonderfully self-reliant. When but 
 thirteen, fired by the death of his oldest brother, 
 who had perished from heat and exhaustion at 
 the Battle of Stono, he shouldered a musket and 
 took part in the War of Independence. He and 
 his remaining brother were made prisoners by 
 the British, but were soon released through the 
 exertions of their mother. It was during this 
 captivity that Andrew received a wound from a 
 British officer for refusing to black the boots of 
 that dignitary. Both the released boys were soon 
 sent home with the small-pox, of which the elder 
 died, and Andrew barely escaped death. The 
 mother went next, dying of ship fever, contracted 
 while attending upon the patriot prisoners at 
 Charleston. Thus left an orphan, Andrew worked 
 a short time in a saddler's shop. He then tried 
 school-teaching, and finally studied law, being
 
 ANDRE IV JA CKSON. 4 2 J 
 
 admitted to practice when but twenty years old. 
 At that time he was very commanding in appear- 
 ance, being six feet one inch in height, and dis- 
 tinguished for courage and activity. 
 
 In 1791. Jackson married, at Nashville, where 
 he had built up a lucrative practice, Mrs. Rachel 
 Robards, the divorced wife, as both he and the 
 lady herself supposed, of Mr. Lewis Robards. 
 They had lived together two years, when it was 
 discovered that Mrs. Robards was not fully di- 
 vorced at the time of her second marriage. As, 
 however, the divorce had subsequently been per- 
 fected, the marriage ceremony was performed 
 anew, in 1/94. In after years, this unfortunate 
 mistake was made the basis of many calumni- 
 ous charges against Jackson by his partisan 
 enemies. 
 
 Tennessee having been made a State in 1796, 
 Jackson was successively its Representative and 
 Senator in Congress, and a Judge of its Supreme 
 Court. Resigning his judgeship in 1804, he en- 
 tered into and carried on for a number of years 
 an extensive trading business. He was also 
 
 o 
 
 elected at this period major-general in the militia. 
 In 1806 he was severely wounded in a duel with 
 Charles Dickenson, who had been making dis 
 paraging remarks against his wife, something 
 which Jackson could neither forget nor forgive. 
 Dickenson fell mortally wounded, and, after suf- 
 fering intense agony for a short time, died. This
 
 OLR FOKA/ER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 sad affair, in which Jackson displayed much vin- 
 dictiveness, made him for awhile very unpopular. 
 
 When, in 1812, war was declared against Eng- 
 land, Jackson promptly offered his services to the 
 General Government. During the summer of 
 1813 he had another of those personal rencontres 
 into which his fiery temper was continually lead- 
 ing him. In an affray with Thomas H. Benton, he 
 received a pistol-shot in the shoulder at the hands 
 of Benton's brother, from the effects of which he 
 never fully recovered. He was still suffering 
 from the immediate consequences of this wound, 
 when tidings were received at Nashville of the 
 massacre at Fort Mimms by Creek Indians. Jack- 
 son, regardless of his wounds, at once took the 
 field. An energetic campaign, in which, winning 
 victory after victory, he established his reputation 
 as one of our best military chieftains, ended the 
 Creek War, and broke forever the power of the 
 Indian races in North America. 
 
 In May, 1814, Jackson was made a major-gen- 
 eral in the regular army and became the acknowl- 
 edged military leader in the Southwest. New 
 Orleans being threatened by the British, he hast- 
 ened to defend it. There, on the 8th of January, 
 1815, with less than five thousand men, mostly 
 untrained militia, he repulsed the attack of a well- 
 appointed army of nearly fourteen thousand vet- 
 eran troops, under some of the most distinguished 
 officers in the English service. Generals Paken-
 
 ANDREW JACKSON. 429 
 
 ham and Gibbs r of the British forces, were killed, 
 together with seven hundred of their men, fourteen 
 hundred more being wounded and five hundred 
 taken prisoners. Jackson lost but eight killed and 
 fourteen wounded. Ten days later the enemy 
 withdrew, leaving many of their guns behind 
 them. The full glory of Jackson's triumph at 
 New Orleans partisan rancor subsequently sought 
 to dim. But high military authorities, even in 
 England, have sustained the popular judgment 
 that it was a brilliant victory, achieved by rare 
 foresight, wise conduct, and undoubted warlike 
 genius. 
 
 Jackson's success at New Orleans gave him 
 immense popularity. He received a vote of 
 thanks from Congress, was made Commander-in- 
 chief of the southern division of the army, and 
 even began to be talked of as a candidate for the 
 Presidency. President Monroe offered him the 
 post of Secretary of War. In the Seminole War, 
 which commenced about the close of 1817, he 
 took the field in person. He was successful, 
 with but little fighting. His execution of Arbuth- 
 not and Armbruster, two British subjects, found 
 guilty by a military court of inciting the Indians 
 to hostilities, caused an angry discussion between 
 England and the United States which at one time 
 threatened to end in open rupture. In Congress, 
 also, it excited a warm debate ; but resolutions 
 censuring the General were rejected by the
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 House, and came to no conclusion in the 
 Senate. 
 
 When Spain ceded Florida to the Union, Jack- 
 son was appointed Governor of the Territory. 
 In 1823 he was elected to the United States Sen- 
 ate by the Legislature of Tennessee, which, at the 
 same time, nominated him for the Presidency. 
 This nomination, though ridiculed on account of 
 Jackson's alleged unfitness for the office, never- 
 theless resulted, at the ensuing election, in his 
 receiving more votes than any other single can- 
 didate ; but the choice devolving on the House 
 of Representatives, Adams, as we have seen, was 
 elected. For Henry Clay's part in this success of 
 Adams, Jackson became his bitter enemy, stigma- 
 tizing him as the "Judas of the West." In the 
 next campaign, however, Jackson achieved a de- 
 cided triumph, having a majority of eighty-three 
 out of two hundred and sixty-one electoral votes. 
 
 In retaliation for the bitter personal attacks he 
 had received during the campaign, Jackson com- 
 menced a wholesale political proscription of his 
 partisan opponents. Adopting the war-cry of his 
 Secretary of State, Marcy, of New York, that 
 "to the victors belong the spoils," he initiated that 
 system, ever since so prevalent, of turning out of 
 office every man not on the side of the winning 
 party. His veto of the bill re-chartering the 
 United States Bank, which for a time caused quite 
 a panic in commercial circles, and his determined
 
 ANDRE W JA CKSON. , ^ j 
 
 stand against the " nullifiers," under the lead of 
 Calhoun, who, with threats of armed resistance, 
 demanded a reduction of the tariff, excited a warm 
 opposition to the President. But, in spite of 
 every effort, the election of 1828 brought him 
 again into the Presidential chair with an over- 
 whelming majority, he receiving two hundred 
 and nineteen electoral votes out of two hundred 
 and eighty-eight, which was then the total number. 
 
 On the loth of December, 1832, Jackson was 
 compelled by the conduct of South Carolina to 
 issue a proclamation threatening to use the army 
 in case of resistance to the execution of the tariff 
 laws ; but, fortunately, Mr. Clay succeeded in 
 bringing about a compromise, by which, the tariff 
 being modified, the South Carolinians were ena- 
 bled to recede from their position with becoming 
 dignity. 
 
 Jackson's removal of the deposits, in 1833, 
 caused an intense excitement throughout the 
 country. In Congress, his course was censured 
 by the Senate, but approved by the House. A 
 panic existed for some time in business circles ; 
 but before the close of his second term the great 
 mass of the people were content with the Presi- 
 dent's course. 
 
 Jackson's foreign diplomacy had been very 
 successful. Useful commercial treaties were 
 made with several countries and renewed with 
 others. Indemnities for spoliations on American
 
 432 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 commerce were obtained from various foreign 
 countries. The national debt was extinguished, 
 the Cherokees were removed from Georgia and 
 the Creeks from Florida, while the original num- 
 ber of the States was doubled by the admission 
 into the Union of Arkansas, in 1836, and of 
 Michigan, in 1837. On the other hand, the slavery 
 dispute was renewed with much bitterness, and 
 the Seminole War re-commenced. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1837, Jackson retired 
 from public life. He returned to " the Hermit- 
 age," his country seat, where he remained until 
 his death, on the 8th of June, 1845. The imme- 
 diate cause of his death was dropsy ; but through 
 the greater part of his life he had been a sufferer 
 from disease in one form or another. 
 
 General Jackson has been described as a man 
 of unbounded hospitality. He loved fine horses 
 and had a passion for racing them. " His temper," 
 writes Colonel Benton, "was placable as well as 
 irascible, and his reconciliations were cordial and 
 sincere." He abhorred debt, public as well as 
 private. His love of country was a master pas- 
 sion. " He was a thoroughly honest man, as 
 straightforward in action as his thoughts were 
 unsophisticated." Of book-knowledge he pos- 
 sessed little scarcely anything; but his vigorous 
 native intelligence and intuitive judgment carried 
 him safely through where the most profound 
 learning without them would have failed.
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. **~ 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN, 
 
 THE eighth chief executive of the Union, 
 was the son of a thrifty farmer in the old 
 town of Kinderhook, in Columbia County, 
 New York, where he was born on the 5th of 
 December, 1782. Early evidencing unusual 
 mental vigor, a good academic education was 
 given to him. Finishing this at the age of four- 
 teen, he then began the study of the law. After 
 seven years of study he was admitted to the bar, 
 and commenced to practice in his native village. 
 His growing reputation and practice warranting 
 him in seeking a wider field, in 1809 he removed 
 to Hudson. In 1812, he was elected to the Sen- 
 ate of New York ; and, in 1815, having been 
 appointed Attorney-General of the State, he re- 
 moved to Albany. In 1821, he was elected to 
 the United States Senate, and was also a member 
 of the Convention to revise the Constitution of 
 New York. He speedily rose to distinction in 
 the National Senate, and, in 1827, was re-elected 
 to that body, but the year following resigned 
 his seat to take the position of Governor of New 
 York. 
 
 In 1829, General Jackson, whose election to 
 the Presidencv was no doubt due in a qreat mea- 
 
 " O 
 
 sure to the shrewd political management of Van 
 Buren, offered him the post of Secretary of State.
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 In 1831, circumstances making it necessary for 
 Jackson to re-organize his Cabinet, Van Buren 
 resigned his Secretaryship, but was immediately 
 named Minister to England. The Senate, how- 
 ever, greatly to the President's dissatisfaction, 
 refused to confirm the nomination, though Van 
 Buren had already reached London. This rejec- 
 tion of his friend aroused all of Jackson's deter- 
 mined spirit. He not only succeeded in placing 
 Mr. Van Buren in the Vice-Presidency during his 
 own second term, but he also began to work zeal- 
 ously to obtain Van Buren's nomination as his 
 successor in the Presidency. He triumphed, and 
 his friend received the Democratic nomination, 
 and was elected by a handsome majority, taking 
 his seat in the Presidential chair on the 4th of 
 March, 1837. 
 
 Shortly after Van Buren's inauguration, a finan- 
 cial panic, ascribed to General Jackson's desire to 
 make specie the currency of the country, and his 
 consequent war upon the banks, brought the 
 country to the very verge of ruin. Failures 
 came fast and frequent, and all the great indus- 
 tries of the nation were paralyzed. At the same 
 time, the war in Florida against the Seminoles lin- 
 gered along, without the slightest apparent pros- 
 pect of coming to an end, entailing enormous 
 expenses on the Government; while the anti- 
 slavery agitation, growing steadily stronger, ex- 
 cited mobs and violence, and threatened to shake
 
 MAR TIN VAN BUR EN. , -, r 
 
 the Republic from its foundations. Rightly or 
 wrongly, these troubles were attributed to Presi- 
 dent Van Buren and his party, as resulting from 
 the policy they had pursued. His popularity 
 waned rapidly, and at the Presidential election in 
 1840, in which he was a candidate for re-election, 
 he was overwhelmingly defeated. 
 
 Retiring to Lindenwald, his fine estate near 
 Kinderhook, Van Buren, in 1844, endeavored to 
 procure a re-nomination for the Presidency, but 
 was unsuccessful, though a majority of delegates 
 was pledged to support him. His defeat was due 
 to the opposition of Southern members, based on 
 the fact that he had written a letter adverse to 
 the annexation of Texas. 
 
 In 1848, he was brought forward by the Free-soil 
 Democrats. Though not elected, the party which 
 had nominated him showed unexpected strength, 
 nearly three hundred thousand votes having been 
 cast in his favor. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren now retired from public life. 
 Fourteen years later, at the age of eighty, on the 
 24th of July, 1862, he died at Lindenwald. He 
 was a man of more than ordinary ability, of culti- 
 vated manners, and genial disposition. Though 
 shrewd, he was not a dishonest politician. His 
 private character was beyond reproach. He de- 
 serves a conspicuous position among those who 
 have been worthy successors of our immortal 
 first President.
 
 436 
 
 OUK FOK.MEK PRESIDENTS. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ninth 
 President of the United States, was 
 born at Berkeley, on the banks of the 
 James River, in Virginia, on the 9th of February, 
 1773. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Independence, 
 and for several years Governor of Virginia. Hav- 
 ing received a good education at Hampden-Sid- 
 ney College, young Harrison began the study of 
 medicine; but the barbarities of the savages on 
 our northwestern frontier having excited his 
 sympathies in behalf of the suffering settlers, he 
 determined to enter the army, as being a place 
 where he could do good service. Accordingly, in 
 1791, shortly after St. Clair's defeat, he obtained 
 from President Washington a commission as en- 
 
 o 
 
 sign in the artillery. Though winter was coming 
 on, he at once set out on foot across the wilder- 
 ness to Pittsburg, whence he descended the Ohio 
 to Fort Washington, now Cincinnati. He soon 
 
 O 
 
 became a favorite with his superiors, and by his 
 bravery in battle speedily attained the rank of 
 captain. In 1 797, when but twenty-four years old, 
 having recently married, he resigned his commis- 
 sion, to accept the secretaryship of the Northwest 
 Territory. In 1801, he was appointed Governor 
 of " the Indiana Territory," comprising the present
 
 WILLIAM HENR Y HARRISON. ,<,* 
 
 States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. This 
 office he filled satisfactorily to both whites and 
 Indians for twelve years, during which time he 
 negotiated many excellent treaties. 
 
 During the summer of 181 1, the Indians of the 
 Northwest, under the lead of the celebrated Te- 
 cumseh, and instigated, it is thought, by the emis- 
 saries of England, with whom we were upon the 
 point of going to war, broke out into open hos- 
 tility. Collecting a considerable force of militia 
 and volunteers, Harrison took the field. On the 
 7th of November, he encountered and defeated 
 Tecumseh on the banks of the Tippecanoe River. 
 This was one of the most hotly contested battles 
 ever fought between the Indians and the whites. 
 
 O 
 
 Its victorious results added greatly to Harrison's 
 already high reputation; and in 1812, after Hull's 
 ignominious surrender of Detroit, he was ap- 
 pointed commander-in-chief of the Army of the 
 Northwest. Invested with almost absolute power, 
 he displayed an energy, sagacity, and courage 
 which justified the confidence reposed in him. 
 By almost superhuman exertions, he managed to 
 collect an army. Perry, on the loth of Septem- 
 ber, 1813, having defeated the British fleet on 
 Lake Erie, Harrison, who had been waiting the 
 course of events, now hastened to take the field. 
 Crossing into Canada, he repossessed Detroit, 
 and, pushing on in pursuit of the flying enemy, 
 finally brought them to a stand on the banks of
 
 438 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 the Thames. Here, after a brief but sanguinary 
 contest, the British and their savage allies were 
 defeated with heavy loss. Tecumseh, the leading 
 spirit of the Indians, was left dead on the field. 
 Harrison's triumph was complete and decisive. 
 
 Shortly after this victory, which gave peace to 
 the Northwest, Harrison, having had some diffi- 
 culty with the Secretary of War, threw up his 
 commission, but was appointed by the President 
 to negotiate a treaty with the Indians. In 1816, 
 he was elected to the lower house of Congress, 
 where he gained considerable reputation, both as 
 an active working member and as an eloquent 
 and effective speaker. In 1824, he was sent from 
 Ohio to the United States Senate. In 1828, he 
 was appointed by John Ouincy Adams Minister 
 to the Republic of Colombia ; but President Jack- 
 son, who bore him no good-will, the following 
 year recalled him. On his return home, he retired 
 to his farm at North Bend, on the Ohio River, 
 and was presently elected clerk of the Hamilton 
 County Court. In 1836, he was one of the four 
 candidates who ran against Van Buren for the 
 
 o 
 
 Presidency. Jackson's favorite, as we have seen, 
 came out ahead in this race. But, though Harri- 
 son was not elected, there was such evidence of 
 his popularity as to warrant the Whigs in uniting 
 upon him as their candidate in the campaign of 1 840. 
 That campaign was a memorable one. It was, 
 perhaps, the most exciting, yet, at the same time,
 
 WILLIAM HENR Y HARRISON. <, g 
 
 one of the freest from extreme partisan bitterness, 
 of any Presidential canvass ever known. As 
 " the hero of Tippecanoe " and " the log-cabin 
 candidate," which latter phrase was first used in 
 contempt, Harrison swept everything before him, 
 securing two hundred and thirty-four out of the 
 two hundred and ninety-four electoral votes cast, 
 and this, too, in spite of all the efforts of Jackson 
 to prevent his success. His journey to be inau- 
 gurated was one continued ovation. His inauq-u- 
 
 o o 
 
 ration, which took place on the 4th of March, 
 1841, was witnessed by a vast concourse of peo- 
 ple from all parts of the Union. His address, by 
 the moderation of its tone, and by its plain, prac- 
 tical, common-sense views, confirmed his immense 
 popularity. Selecting for his Cabinet some of 
 the most eminent public men of the country, he 
 began his Administration with the brightest pros- 
 pects. But, in the midst of these pleasing antici- 
 pations, he was suddenly attacked by a fit of 
 sickness, which, in a few days terminated in his 
 death, on the 4th of April, just one month after 
 his inauguration. His last words, spoken in the 
 delirium of fever, were characteristic of the con- 
 scientiousness with which he had accepted the 
 responsibilities of the Presidential office. " Sir," 
 he said, as if, conscious of his approaching end, 
 he were addressing his successor, " I wish you to 
 understand the principles of the Government. I 
 wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."
 
 44-O OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 The sudden and unexpected death of President 
 Harrison threw the whole country into mourning. 
 Much had been hoped from him, as one who had 
 the best interests of every portion of the Union 
 at heart. There was a noble simplicity in his 
 character which had won all hearts. Without 
 being brilliant, his was an intellect of solid, sub- 
 stantial worth. He was a frank, guileless-hearted 
 man, of incorruptible integrity, and stands forth 
 among our Presidents, brief as was his official 
 term, as a noble representative of the plain, prac- 
 tical, honest yeomanry of the land. " Not one 
 single spot," says Abbott, " can be found to sully 
 the brightness of his fame ; and through all the 
 ages, Americans will pronounce with love and 
 reverence the name of William Henry Harrison." 
 
 JOHN TYLER. 
 
 ON the death of General Harrison, April 
 4th, 1841, for the first time in our history 
 the administration of the Government de- 
 volved on the Vice-President. The gentleman 
 thus elevated to the Presidency was John Tyler, 
 the son of a wealthy landholder of Virginia, at 
 one time Governor of that State. Born in 
 Charles City County, March 29th, 1790, young 
 Tyler, at the age of seventeen, graduated from 
 William and Mary College with the reputation of
 
 JOHX TYLER. 
 
 having delivered the best commencement oration 
 ever heard by the faculty. When only nineteen 
 he began to practice law, rising to eminence in 
 his profession with surprising rapidity. Two 
 years later he was elected to the Legislature. 
 After serving five successive terms in the Legis- 
 lature, he was, in 1816, in 1817, and again in 
 1819, elected to Congress. Compelled by ill- 
 health to resign his seat in Congress, he was, in 
 1825, chosen Governor of the State. In 1827, he 
 was elected to the United States Senate over the 
 celebrated John Randolph, of Roanoke. 
 
 During the whole of his Congressional career, 
 Mr. Tyler was an earnest advocate of the strict 
 construction doctrines of the then Democratic 
 party, opposing the United States Bank, a protec- 
 tive tariff, internal improvements by the General 
 Government, and, in short, all measures tending 
 to the centralization of power. He was also an 
 ardent opponent of any restrictions upon slavery, 
 and avowed his sympathies with the nullification 
 theories of Calhoun. On this last subject he 
 finally came into the opposition against Jackson. 
 In the session of i833-'34, he voted for Clay's 
 resolutions censuring Jackson for his removal of 
 the deposits. In 1836, when the Virginia Legis- 
 lature instructed its representatives in Congress 
 to vote for the rescinding of these resolutions, 
 Mr. Tyler, who had early committed himself to 
 the right of instruction, could not conscientiously
 
 A . 2 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 comply with the request of the Legislature, nor 
 hold his seat in disregard of its mandate, and ac- 
 cordingly resigned. In 1838, he was again sent 
 to the Legislature, and, in 1839, we find him a 
 delegate to the Whig National Convention, 
 which, at Harrisburg, nominated Harrison and 
 himself as candidates for President and Vice- 
 President. Of the campaign which followed, and 
 of the subsequent death of Harrison, we have 
 already given an account. 
 
 On receiving tidings of the President's death, 
 Mr. Tyler hastened to Washington, and, on the 
 6th of April, was inaugurated, and he retained 
 all the Cabinet officers Harrison had appointed. 
 Three days later, he issued an inaugural address, 
 which was well received, both by the public and 
 by his partisan friends, who, knowing his antece- 
 dents, had been somewhat dubious as to what 
 policy he would pursue. But this was only the 
 calm before the storm. Tyler's veto of the bill 
 for a "fiscal bank of the United States," led to a 
 complete rupture with the party by which he had 
 been elected, who charged him with treachery to 
 his principles. Attempting conciliation, he only 
 displeased the Democrats, who had at first shown 
 a disposition to stand by him, without regaining 
 the favor of the Whigs. In consequence of this 
 course of action, Tyler's Cabinet all resigned, 
 and in their places several Democrats were ap- 
 pointed.
 
 JOHN TYLER. *. 
 
 During his Administration several very impor- 
 tant measures were adopted. Among them the 
 act establishing a uniform system of bankruptcy, 
 passed in 1841, the tariff law of 1842, and the 
 scheme for the annexation of Texas, which, by the 
 vigorous efforts of the President, was brought to 
 a successful issue by the passage of joint resolu- 
 tions in Congress, on the ist of March, 1845, just 
 three days before the close of his term. The 
 formal act of annexation, however, was not passed 
 until a later period. One new State Florida 
 was also admitted into the Union under Mr. 
 Tyler's Administration, in 1845. 
 
 After his retirement from the Presidency, on 
 the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Tyler remained in 
 private life at his beautiful home of Sherwood 
 Forest, in Charles City County, till, in 1861, he 
 appeared as a member of the Peace Convention, 
 composed of delegates from the " Border States," 
 which met at Washington to endeavor to arrange 
 terms of compromise between the seceded States 
 and the General Government. Of this Conven- 
 tion, which accomplished nothing, he was presi- 
 dent. 
 
 Subsequently, Mr. Tyler renounced his alle- 
 giance to the United States, and was chosen a 
 member of the Confederate Congress. While 
 acting in this capacity he was taken sick at Rich- 
 mond, where he died after a brief illness, on the 
 1 7th of January, 1862.
 
 444 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 JAMES KNOX POLK. 
 
 MECKLENBURG County, North Caro- 
 lina, has the distinction of being the 
 birthplace of two Presidents of the 
 United States Andrew Jackson and James Knox 
 Polk the latter of whom was born there on the 
 2d of November, 1795. Like his friend and 
 neighbor, General Jackson, Mr. Polk was of 
 Scotch-Irish descent. It was his great-uncle, Col- 
 onel Thomas Polk, who, on the igth of May, 1775, 
 read from the steps of the court-house, at Char- 
 lotte, that famous "Mecklenburg Declaration of 
 Independence," to which reference has been made 
 in our sketch of Jefferson. James at a very early 
 age manifested decided literary tastes. After a 
 vain attempt to induce him to become a store- 
 keeper, his father finally consented to his enter- 
 ing the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
 Hill, from which, in his twenty-third year, he grad- 
 uated with the highest honors. Studying law at 
 Nashville, Tennessee, where he renewed a former 
 acquaintance with General Jackson, he was ad- 
 mitted to the bar, and commenced practice at 
 Columbia. 
 
 In 1823, he was elected to the Legislature of 
 Tennessee, and during the following year was 
 married to Miss Sarah Childress, a beautiful and 
 accomplished young lady, of refined manners and
 
 JAMES KNOX POLK. .** 
 
 rare social gifts. In the fall of 1825, he was 
 elected to Congress, where he remained the next 
 
 o 
 
 fourteen years, during five sessions occupying the 
 responsible and honorable position of Speaker of 
 the House, the duties of which he performed with 
 a dignity and dispassionateness which won for him 
 the warmest encomiums from all parties. In 1839, 
 he was chosen Governor of Tennessee. Again a 
 candidate in 1841, and also in 1843, he was both 
 times defeated, a result due to one of those 
 periodical revolutions in politics which seem in- 
 separable from republican forms of government, 
 rather than to Mr. Folk's lack of personal popu- 
 larity. 
 
 As the avowed friend of the annexation of 
 Texas, Mr. Polk, in 1844, was nominated by the 
 Democrats for the Presidency. Though he had 
 for his opponent no less a person than the great 
 and popular orator and statesman, Henry Clay, he 
 received one hundred and seventy out of two hun- 
 dred and seventy-five votes in the electoral col- 
 lege. He was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 
 1845. Three days previously, his predecessor, 
 John Tyler, had signed the joint resolutions of 
 Congress favoring the annexation of Texas to the 
 United States. Consequently, at the very begin- 
 ning of his Administration, Mr. Polk found the 
 country involved in disputes with Mexico, which, 
 on the formal annexation of Texas, in December, 
 1845, threatened to result in hostilities between
 
 446 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 the two countries. General Zachary Taylor was 
 sent with a small army to occupy the territory 
 stretching from the Neuces to the Rio Grande, 
 which latter stream Texas claimed as her western 
 boundary. Mexico, on the other hand, declaring 
 that Texas had never extended further west than 
 the Neuces, dispatched a force to watch Taylor. 
 A slight collision, in April, 1846, was followed, a 
 few days later, by the battles of Palo Alto and 
 Resaca de la Palma, in which General Taylor was 
 victorious. When the tidings of these battles 
 reached Washington, the President, on May 1 1 th, 
 sent a special message to Congress, declaring 
 " that war existed by the act of Mexico," and ask- 
 ing for men and money to carry it on. Congress 
 promptly voted ten million dollars, and authorizec) 
 the President to call out fifty thousand volun- 
 teers. Hostilities were prosecuted vigorously. An 
 American army, under General Scott, finally fought 
 its way to the capture of the City of Mexico. On 
 the 2d of February, 1848, the treaty of Guada- 
 loupe Hidalgo was signed, and ratified by the 
 Senate on the loth of March following, by which 
 New Mexico and Upper California, comprising a 
 territory of more than half a million square miles, 
 were added to the United States. In return, the 
 United States agreed to pay Mexico fifteen mil- 
 lion of dollars, and to assume the debts due by 
 Mexico to citizens of the United States, amount- 
 ing to three and a half millions more.
 
 JAMES KNOX POLK. 
 
 Besides Texas, two other States were admitted 
 into the Union during Mr. Folk's Administration. 
 These were Iowa and Wisconsin the former in 
 1846 and the latter in 1848. 
 
 When the war with Mexico first broke out, 
 negotiations were pending between England and 
 the United States, in regard to Oregon, which we 
 had long deemed a portion of our own territory. 
 " Fifty-four forty [54 40'] or fight !" had been one 
 of the Democratic battle-cries during the canvass 
 which resulted in Mr. Folk's election, and he, in 
 his inaugural, had maintained that our title to 
 Oregon was unquestionable. England, however, 
 still urged her claim to the whole country. After 
 considerable negotiation, the President finally, as 
 an amicable compromise, offered the boundary of 
 the parallel of 49, giving Vancouver's Island to 
 Great Britain. His offer was accepted, and war 
 perhaps avoided. Another important measure of 
 Mr. Folk's Administration was a modification of 
 the tariff, in 1-846, by which its former protective 
 features were much lessened. 
 
 On hi-s nomination, in 1 844, Mr. Polk had pledged 
 himself to the one-term principle. Consequently 
 he was not a candidate for re-election in 1848. 
 Having witnessed the inauguration of his suc- 
 cessor, General Taylor, he returned to his home 
 near Nashville. " He was then," says Abbott, 
 but fifty-four years of age. He had ever been 
 strictly temperate in his habits, and his health was
 
 448 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 good. With an ample fortune, a choice library, a 
 cultivated mind, and domestic ties of the dearest 
 nature, it seemed as though long years of tran- 
 quillity and happiness were before him." But it 
 was not so to be. On his way home he felt pre- 
 monitory symptoms of cholera, and when he 
 reached there his system was much weakened. 
 Though at first able to work a little in superin- 
 tending the fitting up of his grounds, he was soon 
 compelled to take to his bed. He never rose 
 from it again. Though finally the disease was 
 checked, he had not strength left to brin^ on the 
 
 o o 
 
 necessary reaction. " He died without a struggle, 
 simply ceasing to breathe, as when deep and quiet 
 sleep falls upon a weary man," on the i5th of 
 June, 1849, a little more than three months after 
 his retirement from the Presidency. His remains 
 lie in the spacious lawn of his former home, where 
 his widow still lives (1884). 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR, 
 
 TWELFTH President of the United States, 
 was born in Orange County, Virginia, No- 
 vember 24th, 1 784. His father, Colonel Rich- 
 ard Taylor, was a noted Revolutionary officer. 
 His mother, as is usually the case with the moth- 
 ers of men who have risen to distinction, was a 
 woman of great force of character. Whilst he
 
 THE FAMOUS EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE. 
 
 THE WHITE HOUSE HOME OF THE PRESIDENTS.
 
 ZA CHAR Y TA YL OR. * - j 
 
 was yet an infant, his parents removed to the then 
 wilderness near the present city of Louisville. 
 Here in the depths of the forest swarming with 
 hostile savages, young Taylor found few educa- 
 tional advantages, though the training he received 
 was no doubt one to develop those military qual- 
 ities he subsequently displayed. He grew up a 
 rugged, brave, self-reliant youth, with more of a 
 certain frank, almost blunt, off-handedness, than 
 exterior polish. 
 
 In 1808, he received a lieutenant's commission 
 in the army, and in 1810 married Margaret Smith. 
 His military career fairly opened in 1812, when 
 he was sent to the defense of our western border. 
 While in command of Fort Harrison, on the 
 Wabash, with a garrison of but fifty-two men, he 
 was suddenly attacked by a band of Indians, who 
 succeeded in setting fire to the fort. But the 
 young captain with his handful of men extinguished 
 the flames, and forced the enemy to retreat. For 
 this gallant exploit, he received a brevet major's 
 commission. 
 
 Nothinor remarkable occurred in his life for 
 
 o 
 
 many years subsequent, until, in 1837, we ^ n< ^ 
 him a colonel in Florida, operating against the 
 Seminoles. On Christmas Day of that year he 
 won the battle of Okechobee, one of the most 
 fiercely contested actions in the annals of Indian 
 warfare. The Seminoles never rallied again in 
 formidable numbers. For his signal services in
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 this affair Taylor was made a brigadier, and ap- 
 pointed Commander-in-chief. This post he retained 
 till 1840, when, having purchased an estate near 
 Baton Rouge, in Louisiana, he was, at his own 
 request, placed in the command of the Department 
 of the Southwest. 
 
 While still holding this command in the spring 
 of 1845, Congress having passed joint resolutions 
 for the annexation of Texas, General Taylor was 
 sent with four thousand troops to Corpus Christi, 
 on the west bank of the Neuces, and in territory 
 claimed by both Mexico and Texas. It has been 
 said that it was the secret object of our Govern- 
 ment to provoke a conflict with Mexico, yet so 
 that the responsibility of it should appear to rest 
 upon General Taylor. If such was the object, 
 the scheme signally failed. Taylor made no move 
 without explicit orders. It was by the President's 
 positive command that, on the 8th of March, 1846, 
 the wary old General began his march into the 
 disputed district lying between the Neuces and 
 the Rio Grande. Reaching the latter stream on 
 
 o 
 
 the 28th, he built Fort Brown immediately oppo- 
 site the Mexican town of Matamoras. On the 
 1 2th of March the Mexican commander peremp- 
 torily ordered Taylor to retire beyond the Neuces. 
 A refusal to do this, he said, would be regarded 
 as a declaration of war. General Taylor replied 
 that his instructions would not permit him to 
 retire, and that if the Mexicans saw fit to com-
 
 ZA CHAR Y TA YL OR. , r ., 
 
 mence hostilities he would not shrink from the 
 conflict. Six thousand Mexicans at once crossed 
 the Rio Grande. With less than three thousand 
 troops, Taylor, on the 8th of April, attacked and 
 defeated them at Palo Alto. Rallying in a strong 
 position at Resaca de la Palma, the Mexicans 
 were again attacked, and after a stubborn fight 
 driven back across the river with great loss. These 
 victories were hailed with the wildest enthusiasm 
 throughout the country, and Taylor was promoted 
 to a major-generalship. 
 
 Moving rapidly forward to Monterey, he took 
 that strongly fortified city, after a desperate fight 
 of three days. Making it his headquarters, the 
 victor was preparing for an important move, when 
 General Scott, who was about to lead an expedi- 
 tion against Vera Cruz, took away the best part 
 of his troops, leaving him with only five thousand 
 men, mostly raw volunteers. Hearing of this, 
 Santa Anna, undoubtedly the ablest of the Mexican 
 generals, with twenty thousand picked men, 
 pushed rapidly down the Rio Grande with the 
 design of overpowering Taylor's little army. The 
 latter, on the 2ist of February, 1847, took position 
 at Buena Vista and awaited the approach of his 
 antagonist, who made his appearance the following 
 day, and at once began a fierce attack. Never 
 was battle fought with more desperate courage 
 or greater skill. Three times during the day 
 victory seemed with the Mexicans ; but finally the
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 stubborn valor of Taylor's little band won the 
 field. 
 
 The tidings of this brilliant victory excited the 
 greatest enthusiasm and gained an imperishable 
 renown for the triumphant General. On his re- 
 turn home in November, " Old Rough and Ready," 
 as his soldiers familiarly called him, was greeted 
 everywhere by the warmest demonstrations of 
 popular applause. Even before this he had been 
 nominated at public meetings for the Presidency ; 
 and now the Whigs, casting about for a popular 
 candidate, made him their party nominee. Not- 
 withstanding the defection from their ranks of 
 
 o 
 
 Henry Wilson and others, who were opposed to 
 Taylor as being a slave-holder, he was elected by 
 a respectable majority, receiving one hundred and 
 sixty-three electoral votes. His inauguration 
 took place on Monday, March 5th, 1849. 
 
 Though he selected an excellent Cabinet, the 
 old soldier found himself in a trying position. A 
 vehement struggle had commenced in Congress 
 about the organization of the new Territories, the 
 admission of California, and the settlement of the 
 boundary between Texas and New Mexico, all 
 these questions being connected with the great 
 and absorbing one of the extension or non-ex- 
 tension of slavery. Taylor, in his message to 
 Congress, recommended the admission of Cali- 
 fornia as a free State, and that the remaining 
 Territories should be allowed to form State Con-
 
 MILLARD FILLMORE. . 
 
 stitutions to suit themselves. Nothing could have 
 been more distasteful to the extremists of the 
 South, many of whom made open threats of seces- 
 sion in case of the adoption of the President's 
 suggestions. To adjust the difficulty, Mr. Clay, 
 in the Senate, introduced his " compromise mea- 
 sures," which were still under debate, when, on 
 the 4th of July, 1850, General Taylor was seized 
 with bilious fever, of which he died on the 9th at 
 the Presidential Mansion. His last words were : 
 " I have tried to do my duty." 
 
 MILLARD FILLMORE. 
 
 ON the death of General Taylor, his suc- 
 cessor, according to the Constitution, was 
 the Vice-President. The gentleman then 
 filling that position was Millard Fillmore, an emi- 
 nent lawyer of New York. He was compara- 
 tively a young man, having been born on the yth 
 of January, 1800, at Summer Hill, Cayuga County, 
 New York. His father being poor, his means of 
 education had been limited. Apprenticed at the 
 age of fourteen to a clothier, he found time during 
 his evenings to gratify an insatiable thirst for 
 knowledge by reading. His studious habits, fine 
 personal appearance, and gentlemanly bearing 
 having attracted the attention of a lawyer in the 
 neighborhood, that gentleman offered to receive
 
 4-5 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 him in his office and to assist him pecuniarily 
 until he should be admitted to the bar. This offer 
 young Fillmore, then in his nineteenth year, thank- 
 fully accepted. With this help, and by teaching 
 during the winters, he was enabled to prosecute 
 his studies to a successful issue, and in 1823 was 
 admitted to the bar, opening an office in the vil- 
 lage of Aurora, New York. In 1826, he married 
 Miss Abigail Powers, a lady of eminent worth. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore steadily rose in his profession. 
 In 1829, he was elected by the Whigs to the State 
 Legislature, and soon afterward removed to Buf- 
 falo. In 1832, he was chosen a member of Con- 
 gress, and again in 1837, DUt declined running a 
 third time. He now had a wide reputation, and 
 in the year 1847 was elected State Comptroller 
 and removed to Albany. The following year, he 
 was placed in nomination as Vice -President on the 
 ticket with General Taylor. When, on the 5th of 
 March, 1849, Taylor took the Presidential chair, 
 Mr. Fillmore, by virtue of his office, became 
 President of the United States Senate. Here, the 
 first presiding officer to take so firm a step, he 
 announced his determination, in spite of all prece- 
 dents to the contrary, to promptly call Senators to 
 order for any offensive words they might utter in 
 debate. 
 
 When, after the unexpected death of General 
 Taylor, on July gth, 1850, the office of chief ex- 
 ecutive devolved upon Mr. Fillmore, he found
 
 M1LLARD F1LLMORE. r~ 
 
 his position no easy or pleasant one. His political 
 opponents had a majority in both houses of Con- 
 gress. The controversy on the slavery question 
 had embittered public feeling, and it required a 
 skillful pilot to guide the ship of state safely through 
 the perils by which she was surrounded. The com- 
 promise measures of Mr. Clay, to which we have 
 already referred in our sketch of General Taylor, 
 were finally passed, and received the approving 
 signature of Mr. Fillmore. One of these meas- 
 
 o 
 
 ures was the admission of California as a free 
 State ; another was the abolition of slavery in the 
 District of Columbia. These were thought to be 
 concessions to the cause of freedom ; while, on 
 the other hand, to satisfy the pro-slavery agitators, 
 a bill was passed to give the owners of slaves 
 power to recapture fugitive slaves in any part of 
 the free States and carry them back without a jury 
 trial. But, though enacted in the hope of allay- 
 ing sectional animosity, these measures brought 
 about only a temporary calm, while they aggra- 
 vated the violence of extremists both North and 
 South. 
 
 The compromise measures and the fitting out 
 of the famous Japan expedition were the principal 
 features of Mr. Fillmore's otherwise uneventful 
 Administration. On the 4th of March, 1853, he 
 retired from office, and immediately afterward 
 took a long tour through the Southern States, 
 where he met with a cordial reception.
 
 A rg OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 In 1855, Mr. Fillmore visited Europe. He was 
 everywhere received with those marks of atten- 
 tion which, according to European ideas, are due 
 to those who have occupied the most distinguished 
 positions. On his return home, in 1856, he was 
 nominated for the Presidency by the so-called 
 "Know-nothing," or "American" party; but being 
 very decidedly defeated, he retired to private life. 
 He died at Buffalo, New York, on the 8th of 
 March, [874. 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE, 
 
 FOURTEENTH President of the United 
 States, was born at Hillsborough, N. H., 
 November 23d, 1804. His father, General 
 Benjamin Pierce, was a soldier of the Revolution, 
 and was a man of considerable local repute, hav- 
 ing also served as Governor of New Hampshire. 
 Graduating from Bowdoin College in 1824, Mr. 
 Pierce studied law with the celebrated Levi 
 Woodbury, and commenced practice in his native 
 town in 1837. He married in 1834. He early 
 entered the political field and, in 1833, after hav- 
 ing previously served several terms in the State 
 Legislature, was elected to Congress. Here he 
 showed himself an earnest State-rights Democrat, 
 and was regarded as a fair working member. In 
 1837, when but thirty-three years of age, he was
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 elected to the National Senate and, during the 
 following year, removed to Concord, where he at 
 once took rank among the leading lawyers of the . 
 State. 
 
 Though Mr. Pierce had declined the office of 
 Attorney-General of the United States, offered 
 to him by President Polk, he, nevertheless, when 
 hostilities were declared against Mexico, accepted 
 a brigadier-generalship in the army, successfully 
 marching with twenty-four hundred men from the 
 sea-coast to Puebla, where he reinforced General 
 Scott. The latter, on the arrival of Pierce, imme- 
 diately prepared to make his long-contemplated 
 attack upon the City of Mexico. At the battle of 
 Contreras, on the igth of August, 1847, where he 
 led an assaulting column four thousand strong, 
 General Pierce showed himself to be a brave and 
 energetic soldier. Early in the fight his leg was 
 broken by his horse falling upon him, yet he kept 
 his saddle during the entire conflict, which did not 
 cease till eleven o'clock at night. The next day 
 also, he took part in the still more desperate fight 
 at Churubusco, where, overcome by pain and 
 exhaustion, he fainted on the field. At Molino 
 Del Rey, where the hottest battle of the war was 
 fought, he narrowly escaped death from a shell 
 which bursted beneath his horse. 
 
 The American army triumphantly entered the 
 City of Mexico on the I3th of September, 1847. 
 General Pierce remained there until the following
 
 460 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 December, when he returned home and resumed 
 the practice of his profession. In the Democratic 
 Convention which met at Baltimore, June ist, 
 1852, Cass, Buchanan, and. Douglas were the 
 prominent candidates. After thirty-five indecisive 
 ballots Franklin Pierce was proposed, and on the 
 forty-ninth ballot he was nominated for the Presi- 
 dency. He was elected by an overwhelming 
 majority, and was inaugurated Chief Magistrate 
 on the 4th of March, 1853, receiving two hundred 
 and fifty-four electoral votes, while his opponent, 
 General Winfield Scott, received but forty-two. 
 
 Though both the great parties of the country 
 had adopted platforms favoring the recent com- 
 promise measures of Clay, and deprecating any 
 renewal of the agitation of the slavery question, 
 General Pierce's Administration, by reason of the 
 bringing up of that very question, was one of the 
 most stormy in our history. Douglas's bill for the 
 organization of Kansas and Nebraska, by which 
 the Missouri Compromise Act of 1 8 20 was repealed 
 allowing slavery to enter where it had been for- 
 ever excluded, and which, having the support of 
 the President, became a law on the last day of 
 May, 1853, excited the most intense indignation 
 in the free States, and greatly increased the 
 strength of the anti-slavery power. In Kansas a 
 bitter contest, almost attaining the proportions 
 of civil war, began between the partisans of 
 the South and the North. This contest was
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 still raging when Mr. Pierce's term drew to its 
 close. Other events of his Administration were the 
 bombardment of Greytown, in Central America, 
 under orders from our Government ; efforts 
 under Government direction for the acquisition 
 of Cuba ; and the use of the President's official 
 influence and patronage against the Anti-Slavery 
 settlers of Kansas. 
 
 His friends sought to obtain his nomination for 
 a second term, but did not succeed. On the 4th of 
 March, 1857, therefore, he retired to his home at 
 Concord. That home, already bereaved by the 
 loss of three promising boys his only children, 
 was now to have a still greater loss, that of 
 the wife and afflicted mother, who, grief-stricken 
 at the sudden death, by a railroad accident, of her 
 last boy, sunk under consumption, leaving Mr. 
 Pierce alone in the world wifeless as well as 
 childless. 
 
 The sorrowing- ex-President soon after took a 
 
 O 
 
 trip to Madeira, and made a protracted tour in 
 Europe, returning home in 1860. During the 
 Civil War he delivered in Concord a speech, still 
 known as the " Mausoleum of Hearts Speech," 
 in which he is regarded as having expressed a 
 decided sympathy for the Confederates. He died 
 at Concord on the 8th of October, 1869, having 
 lost much of his hold on the respect of his fellow- 
 citizens, both North and South, by his lack of 
 decision for either.
 
 462 
 
 OUR fORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN, 
 
 FIFTEENTH President of the United States, 
 was born in Franklin County, Pa., April 
 22d, 1791. His father, a native of the 
 North of Ireland, who had come eight years before 
 to America, with no capital but his strong arms 
 and energetic spirit, was yet able to give the 
 bright and studious boy a good collegiate educa- 
 tion at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., where he 
 graduated in 1809. He then began the study of 
 law at Lancaster, and, after a three years' course, 
 was admitted to practice in 1812. He rose rap- 
 idly in his profession, the business of which in- 
 creased with his reputation, so that, at the age of 
 forty, he was enabled to retire with an ample 
 fortune. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan early entered into politics. 
 When but twenty-three years old, he was elected 
 to the Legislature of Pennsylvania. Though an 
 avowed Federalist, he not only spoke in favor of 
 a vigorous prosecution of the War of 1812, but 
 likewise marched as a private soldier to the de- 
 fense of Baltimore. In 1820, he was elected to 
 the lower House of Congress, where he speedily 
 attained eminence as a finished and energetic 
 
 o 
 
 speaker. His political views are shown in the 
 following extract from one of his speeches in 
 Congress : " If I know myself, I am a politician
 
 JAMES B UCHANAN. 
 
 neither of the West nor the East, of the North nor 
 of the South. I therefore shall forever avoid any 
 expressions the direct tendency of which must be 
 to create sectional jealousies, and at length dis- 
 union that worst of all political calamities." 
 That he sincerely endeavored in his future career 
 to act in accordance with the principles here 
 enunciated no candid mind can doubt, however 
 much he may be regarded to have failed in doing 
 so, especially during the eventful last months of 
 his Administration. 
 
 In 1831, at the close of his fifth term, Mr. Bu- 
 chanan, having declined a re-election to Congress, 
 was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary to St. Peters- 
 burg, where he concluded the first commercial 
 treaty between the United States and Russia. 
 On his return home in 1833, ne was elected to 
 the National Senate. Here he became one of 
 the leading spirits among the supporters of Presi- 
 dent Jackson, and also supported the Administra- 
 tion of Martin Van Buren. He was re-elected 
 to the Senate, and his last act as a Senator was 
 to report favorably on the admission of Texas, 
 he being the only member of the Committee on 
 Foreign Relations to do so. 
 
 On the election of Polk to the Presidency, in 
 1845, Mr.' Buchanan was selected to fill the im- 
 portant position of Secretary of State. He 
 strongly opposed the " Wilmot Proviso," and all 
 other provisions for the restriction of slavery.
 
 464 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 At the close of Folk's term, he withdrew to private 
 life, but was subsequently sent by President 
 Pierce as our Minister to England. It was while 
 acting in this capacity that he united with Mason 
 and Soule in the once celebrated " Ostend Mani- 
 festo," in which strong ground was taken in favor 
 of the annexation of Cuba to the United States, 
 by purchase, if possible, but if necessary, by force. 
 
 Returning home in 1856, he was nominated as 
 the Democratic candidate for the Presidency, 
 and, after a stormy campaign, elected, receiving 
 one hundred and seventy-four out of three hun- 
 dred and three electoral votes. His opponents 
 were John C. Fremont, Republican, and Millard 
 Fillmore, American. He was inaugurated on the 
 4th of March, 1857. With the exception of a slight 
 difficulty with the Mormons in Utah, and of the 
 admission into the Union of Minnesota in 1858, 
 and of Oregon in 1859, the chief interest of Mr. 
 Buchanan's Administration centered around the 
 slavery controversy. 
 
 At the time of his inauguration, it is true, the 
 country looked confidently forward to a period of 
 political quiet. But, unhappily, the Kansas diffi- 
 culty had not been settled. The Free-State party 
 in that territory refused obedience to the laws 
 passed by the local Legislature, on the grounds 
 that that Legislature had been elected by fraudu- 
 lent means. They even chose a rival Legislature, 
 which, however, the President refused to recog-
 
 JAMES B UCHANA N. 
 
 nize. Meanwhile the so-called regular Legislature, 
 which Congress had sanctioned, passed a bill for 
 the election of delegates by the people to frame a 
 State Constitution for Kansas. An election was 
 accordingly held; the Convention met, and after a 
 stormy and protracted session, completed its work. 
 The Lecompton Constitution, as it was called, when 
 laid before Congress, met with strong opposition 
 from the Republicans, on the ground that it had 
 been fraudulently concocted. The President, how- 
 ever, gave it all his influence, believing that it 
 would bring peace to the country, while not pre- 
 venting Kansas from being a free State, should its 
 people so desire; and finally, after a struggle of 
 extraordinary violence and duration, it received 
 the sanction of Congress. 
 
 But quiet was not restored. In the North, the 
 feeling against the President and his party be-. 
 came intense. The election in 1860 resulted in 
 the triumph of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican 
 candidate for the Presidency. The period between 
 Lincoln's election and his inauguration was one 
 of peculiar trial to President Buchanan. An at-- 
 tempt to incite a slave insurrection, made at Har* 
 per's Ferry, in 1859, by John Brown, of Kansas, fop 
 which he was hanged by the authorities of Virginia, 
 had created a profound sensation in the South, 
 where it was regarded by many as indicative of 
 the fixed purpose of the North to destroy slavery 
 at all hazards. The election of Lincoln following
 
 466 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 so soon after this event, added strength to their 
 apprehensions. As soon as the result of the 
 canvass became known, South Carolina seceded 
 from the Union. Mr. Buchanan, apparently re- 
 garding the fears and complaints of the South 
 as not without some just grounds, seems to have 
 endeavored to bring about a peaceful solution of 
 the difficulties before him by attempts at concilia- 
 tion. But however good his intentions may have 
 been, his policy, which has been characterized as 
 weak, vacillating, and cowardly, so signally failed, 
 that when, on the 4th of March, 1861, he retired 
 from the Presidency, he handed over to his suc- 
 cessor an almost hopelessly divided Union, from 
 which seven States had already seceded. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan also used his influence for the 
 purchase of Cuba as a means of extending slave 
 territory. He permitted the seizure of Southern 
 forts and arsenals, and the removal of muskets 
 from Northern to Southern armories as the seces- 
 sion movements matured, and in his message of 
 December, 1860, he directly cast upon the North 
 the blame of the disrupted Union. 
 
 Remaining in Washington long enough to wit- 
 ness the installation of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Buch- 
 anan withdrew to the privacy of Wheatland, his 
 country home, near Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. 
 Here he spent the remainder of his days, taking 
 no prominent part in public affairs. In 1866, he 
 published a volume entitled, Mr. Buchanans
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 Administration, in which he explained and de- 
 fended the policy he had pursued while in the 
 Presidential office. He never married. His death 
 occurred at his mansion at Wheatland, on the ist 
 of June, 1868. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 
 
 SIXTEENTH President of the Union, was 
 born in Hardin County, Kentucky, on the 
 1 2th of February, 1809. His parents were 
 extremely poor, and could give him but scant 
 opportunities of education. It is supposed that 
 his ancestors came to this country from England 
 among the original followers of William Penn. 
 About the middle of the last century they lived in 
 Berks County, Pennsylvania, whence one branch 
 of the family moved to Virginia. The subject of 
 this sketch was taught to read and write by his 
 mother, a woman of intelligence far above her 
 humble station. When he was in his eighth year, 
 the family removed to the then wilderness of 
 Spencer County, Indiana, where, in the course of 
 three or four years, the boy Abraham, who was 
 quick and eager to learn, had a chance to acquire 
 the rudiments of the more ordinary branches of 
 such a common-school education as was to be 
 obtained in that rude frontier district; but his 
 mother died when he was about eleven years old,
 
 468 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 which was to him a sad loss. At the age of nine- 
 teen, he set out in a flat-boat, containing a cargo 
 of considerable value, on a voyage to New Or- 
 leans. While passing down the Mississippi, they 
 were attacked by a thieving band of negroes, but 
 they courageously beat off the robbers, and suc- 
 ceeded in reaching their destination safely. 
 
 In 1830, Lincoln's father removed to Decatur 
 County, Illinois. Here Abraham assisted in estab- 
 lishing the new home. It was on this occasion 
 that he split the famous rails from which, years 
 after, he received his name of "the rail-splitter." 
 During the severe winter which followed, by his 
 exertions and skill as a hunter, he contributed 
 greatly in keeping the family from starvation. 
 The next two years he passed through as a farm- 
 hand and as a clerk in a country store. In the 
 Black-Hawk War, which broke out in 1832, he 
 served creditably as a volunteer, and on his re- 
 turn home ran for the Legislature, but was de- 
 feated. He next tried store-keeping, but failed ; 
 and then, having learned something of surveying, 
 worked two or three years quite successfully as a 
 surveyor for the Government. In 1834, he was 
 elected to the Legislature, in which he did the ex- 
 tremely unpopular act of recording his name 
 against some pro-slavery legislation of that body. 
 He soon after took up the study of law, being ad- 
 mitted to the bar in 1837, when he removed to 
 Springfield, and began to practice. John T. Stuart
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. **, l 
 
 was his business partner. In 1842, he married 
 Miss Mary Todd, daughter of Robert S. Todd, 
 Esq., of Lexington, Kentucky. He rose rapidly 
 in his profession, to which having served a second 
 term in the Legislature, he devoted himself assidu- 
 ously till 1844, during which year he canvassed 
 the State in behalf of Mr. Clay, the Whig candi- 
 date for the Presidency. In 1847, ne took his seat 
 in the lower house of Congress, where he was the 
 only Whig from the whole State of Illinois. Ser- 
 ving but a single term in Congress, Mr. Lincoln, 
 in 1848, canvassed the State for General Taylor, 
 and the following year was an unsuccessful can- 
 didate for a seat in the United States Senate. 
 He now renewed his devotion to his legal pur- 
 suits, yet still retained a deep interest in national 
 politics. 
 
 The repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which 
 created a profound sensation throughout the 
 entire North, brought about a complete political 
 revolution in Illinois, and the State went over to 
 the Whigs. In this revolution Mr. Lincoln took 
 a most active part, and gained a wide reputation 
 as an effective stump speaker. In 1856, he was 
 brought prominently before the first Republican 
 National Convention, and came very near being 
 nominated as its'candidate for the Vice-Presidency. 
 In 1858, as Republican candidate for United 
 States Senator, he canvassed Illinois in opposition 
 to Judge Douglas, the Democratic nominee.
 
 PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Douglas was, perhaps, one of the most effective 
 public speakers of the time, yet it is generally 
 conceded that Lincoln, though he failed to obtain 
 the Senatorship, was fully equal to his distin- 
 guished and no doubt more polished opponent. 
 The rare versatility and comprehensiveness of 
 Mr. Lincoln's mind found full illustration in this 
 exciting contest. 
 
 During the next eighteen months, Mr. Lincoln 
 visited various parts of the country, delivering 
 speeches of marked ability and power ; and when, 
 in May, 1860, the Republican National Conven- 
 tion met at Chicago, he was, on the third ballot, 
 chosen as its candidate for the Presidency. In 
 consequence of a division in the Democratic party, 
 he was elected, receiving one hundred and eighty 
 out of three hundred and three electoral votes. 
 In the popular vote the result was as follows : 
 Lincoln, 1,887, 6m; Douglas, 1,291,574; Brecken- 
 ridge, Pro-slavery Democrat, 880,082 ; Bell, Con- 
 stitutional-Union party, 646,124: thus leaving 
 Lincoln in the minority of the popular vote by 
 nearly a million. 
 
 The election of Lincoln was at once made a 
 pretext for dissolving the Union. Though he had 
 repeatedly declared his intention not to interfere 
 with the existing institutions of the South, and to 
 hold inviolate his official oath to maintain the 
 Constitution, all was of no avail to dissuade that 
 section from its predetermined purpose. A
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. **, 
 
 month before he was inaugurated six Southern 
 States, having solemnly withdrawn from the 
 Union, met in convention and framed the Consti- 
 tution of a new and independent Confederacy. 
 
 The President-elect left his home in Springfield 
 on the nth of February, 1861, and proceeded by 
 a somewhat circuitous route to Washington, de- 
 livering short, pithy addresses in the larger 
 towns and cities through which he passed. He 
 also visited the Legislatures of several North- 
 ern States, everywhere reiterating his purpose, 
 while not disturbing the domestic relations of 
 the South, to maintain the Union intact at all 
 hazards. Though informed at Philadelphia 
 that a plot had been formed for his assassination 
 in Baltimore, he reached Washington on Feb- 
 ruary 23d without molestation, and on the 4th 
 of March was duly inaugurated in the presence 
 of an immense assemblage from all parts of the 
 country. 
 
 In his inaugural address the new President, as- 
 suring the people of the South that he had taken 
 the oath to support the Constitution unreservedly, 
 and that there were no grounds for any fear that 
 " their property," peace, or persons were to be 
 endangered, declared it to be his firm intention 
 to execute the laws, collect duties and imposts, 
 and to hold the public properties in all the 
 States with no bloodshed, however, unless it 
 should be forced upon the national authority.
 
 474 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 On entering upon the duties of his office, Mr. 
 Lincoln found the condition of affairs far from 
 encouraging. Seven States had already with- 
 drawn from the Union, and others were preparing 
 to follow their example. The credit of the .Gov- 
 ernment was low ; the army and navy not only 
 small and inefficient, but scattered all through our 
 wide domain ; and the greater part of the public 
 arms, through the treachery of certain officials, 
 were in the possession of the seceded States. 
 Still, he was hopeful and buoyant, and believed 
 that the pending difficulties would soon be ad- 
 justed. Even when, on the I4th of April, 1861, 
 the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter by 
 a Confederate Army roused the North to intense 
 action, though he immediately issued a call for 
 75,000 volunteers, it was seemingly with but a 
 faint idea that they would be needed. The fact 
 that they were summoned for only three months 
 a period far from long enough for the organization 
 of so large a body of men is of itself sufficient 
 evidence of the delusion under which he was 
 laboring. 
 
 The battle of Bull Run, on the 2ist of July, 
 1 86 1, which resulted in the total route of the 
 Government forces, in a great measure dispelled 
 this delusion. The real magnitude of the contest 
 
 o 
 
 now began to show itself to Mr. Lincoln. Yet 
 his courage never faltered, nor was he less hope- 
 ful of the final triumph of the Union. Cheerfully
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 accepting the burden of cares and responsibilities 
 so suddenly thrown upon him, he put his whole 
 heart in the work before him, and not even the 
 disasters of 1862, that gloomiest year of the war, 
 could for a moment shake his confiding spirit. 
 People were not wanting who found fault with the 
 buoyant temper he displayed at that period ; but 
 his apparent cheeriness was of as much avail as 
 our armies in bringing about the triumph which 
 at last came. 
 
 Of the struggle which resulted in this triumph 
 we shall give no details, only referring briefly to 
 some of the more important actions of the Presi- 
 dent. The most momentous of these, without 
 doubt, was the Emancipation Proclamation, issued 
 on the 22d of September, 1862, and to take effect 
 on the ist of January, 1863, by which slavery was 
 at once and forever done away with in the United 
 States. In his message to Congress, the Presi- 
 dent thus explains this act: "In giving freedom 
 to the slave we assure freedom to the free, hon- 
 orable alike in what we give and what we pre- 
 serve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the 
 last, best hope of earth. * * * The way is 
 plain, peaceful, glorious, just a way which, if 
 followed, the world will forever applaud and God 
 must forever bless." 
 
 In 1864, by a respectable majority in the popu- 
 lar vote and a large one in the electoral college, 
 Mr. Lincoln was re-elected to the Presidency.
 
 j7 6 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 At the period of his second inauguration, the 
 complete triumph of the Federal authority over 
 the seceded States was assured. The last battles 
 of the war had been fought. War had substan- 
 tially ceased. The President was looking forward 
 to the more congenial work of pacification. How 
 he designed to carry out this work we may judge 
 from the following passage in his second inaugu- 
 ral: "With malice toward none, with charity 
 for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us 
 to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work 
 we are* in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care 
 for him who shall have borne the battle, and for 
 his widow and his orphans, to do all that may 
 achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace 
 among ourselves and with all nations." 
 
 Unfortunately, the kind-hearted Lincoln was 
 not to carry out the work of pacification to which 
 he looked forward with such bright anticipations. 
 But a little more than a month after his second 
 inauguration on the night of the i4th of April, 
 1865 John Wilkes Booth, one of a small band 
 of desperate conspirators, as insanely foolish as 
 they were wicked, fired a pistol-ball into the brain 
 of the President as he sat in his box at the theatre. 
 The wound proved fatal in a few hours, Mr. Lin- 
 coln never recovering his consciousness. 
 
 o 
 
 The excitement which the assassination of the 
 President occasioned was most intense. The 
 whole country was in tears. Nor was this grief
 
 BIRTH-PLACE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ELIZABETHTOWN, KY. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S RESIDENCE AT SPRINGFIELD, ILL.
 
 ANDRE W $ OffNSON. *** 
 
 confined to our own people. England, France, 
 all Europe, and even the far-off countries of China 
 and Japan, joined in the lamentation. Never was 
 man more universally mourned, or more deserv- 
 ing of such widespread sorrow. 
 
 The funeral honors were grand and imposing. 
 His body, having been embalmed, was taken to 
 his home at Springfield, Illinois, passing through 
 Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Albany, Buf- 
 falo, Cleveland, Chicago, and other large towns 
 and cities. The entire road seemed to be lined 
 with mourners, while in the chief cities the funeral 
 ceremonies were equally solemn and magnificent. 
 
 ANDREW JOHNSON, 
 
 THE constitutional successor to President 
 Lincoln, was born in Raleigh, N. C., De- 
 cember 29th, 1808. Prevented by the 
 poverty of his parents from receiving any school- 
 ing, he was apprenticed, at the age of ten, to a 
 tailor. On the expiration of his apprenticeship, 
 he went to Greenville, Tenn., where he married. 
 By his wife he was taught to write and to cipher, 
 having already learned to read. Taking consid- 
 erable interest in local politics, he formed a work- 
 ingman's party in the town, by which he was 
 elected alderman, and afterward Mayor. In 
 1835, he was elected to a seat in the Legislature.
 
 4$ O OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Failing of re-election in 1837, he was again suc- 
 cessful in 1839; and in 1841, was elected to the 
 State Senate. His ability was now recognized 
 and, in 1843, he was sent to Congress as a Rep- 
 resentative of the Democratic party. Having 
 served five successive terms in Congress, he was, 
 in 1853, elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
 again in 1855. Two years later, he was called 
 upon to represent Tennessee in the United States 
 Senate, where he speedily rose to distinction as a 
 man of great native energy. The free homestead 
 bill, giving one hundred and sixty acres of the 
 public land to every citizen who would settle upon 
 it and cultivate it a certain number of years, owes 
 its passage to his persistent advocacy. On the 
 slavery question he generally went with the Dem- 
 ocratic party, accepting slavery as an existing 
 institution, protected by the Constitution. 
 
 In the Presidential canvass of 1860, Mr. John- 
 son was a supporter of Breckinridge, but took 
 strong grounds against secession when that sub- 
 ject came up. His own State having voted itself 
 out of the Union, it was at the peril of his life 
 that he returned home in 1861. Attacked by a 
 mob on a railroad car, he boldly faced his assail- 
 ants, pistol in hand, and they slunk away. On 
 the 4th of March, 1862, he was appointed Military 
 Governor of Tennessee. He entered upon the 
 duties of his office with a courage and vigor that 
 soon entirely reversed the condition of affairs in
 
 AXDKE W JOHNSON. ,g j 
 
 the State. By March, 1864, he had so far restored 
 order that elections were held for State and 
 County officers, and the usual machinery of civil 
 government was once more set in motion. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1865, Mr. Johnson was 
 inaugurated as Vice-President of the United 
 
 o 
 
 States. The assassination of President Lincoln, 
 a little more than a month afterward, placed him 
 in the vacant chief executive chair. Though Mr. 
 Johnson made no distinct pledges, it was thought 
 by the tone of his inaugural that he would pursue 
 a severe course toward the seceded States. Yet 
 the broad policy of restoration he finally adopted, 
 met the earnest disapproval of the great party by 
 which he had been elected. The main point at 
 issue was, " whether the seceded States should 
 be at once admitted to representation in Congress, 
 and resume all the rights they had enjoyed before 
 the Civil War, without further guarantees than the 
 
 O 
 
 surrender of their armies, and with no provision 
 for protecting the emancipated blacks." 
 
 Johnson, opposed to making any restrictive 
 conditions, therefore persistently vetoed the vari- 
 ous reconstructive measures adopted by Congress. 
 Though these measures were finally passed over 
 the President's vetoes by two-thirds of the votes 
 of each house, yet his determined opposition to 
 their policy, on the ground that it was unconsti- 
 tutional, gave Congress great offense. This feeling 
 finally became so intense, that the House of Repre-
 
 I'XESf DENTS. 
 
 sentatives brought articles of impeachment against 
 him. The trial the first of its kind known in our 
 history was conducted by the United States 
 Senate, presided over by the Chief Justice of the 
 Supreme Court. The impeachment failed, how- 
 ever, yet only lacked one vote of the two-thirds 
 majority requisite to the President's conviction. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Johnson made a tour to Chicago, 
 in the course of which he made many petty 
 speeches, which brought upon him both censure 
 and ridicule, but he was regarded as politically 
 harmless, and to the close of his term, March 4th, 
 1869, he was allowed to pursue his own policy 
 with but little opposition. Retiring to his home 
 at Greenville, he began anew to take an active 
 part in the politics of his State. It required sev- 
 eral years, however, for him to regain anything 
 like his earlier popularity ; but finally, in January, 
 1875, ne succeeded in securing his election once 
 more to the Senate of the United States, but 
 he died on the 3oth of the following July. 
 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 HISTORY has recorded few instances of 
 the rapid and unexpected rise of individ- 
 uals in humble circumstances to the high- 
 est positions, more remarkable than that afforded 
 by the life of Ulysses S. Grant, the eighteenth
 
 UL YSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 President of the United States. He was the son 
 of Jesse R. and Hannah Simpson Grant, both na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania. He was born April 27th, 
 1822, at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio. 
 His early education was merely that of the com- 
 mon schools of his day. By a conjunction of 
 favoring circumstances, he passed, in 1839, fr m 
 the bark- mill of his father's tannery to the Mili- 
 tary Academy at West Point. He was a diligent 
 but not distinguished student. Having graduated 
 in 1843, the twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine, he 
 signalized himself by his bravery in the Mexican 
 War, being rewarded therefor by a captain's corn- 
 mission. He then married Miss Julia J. Dent, of 
 Saint Louis, and, after spending several years with 
 his regiment in California and Oreo-on, left the 
 
 C3 O 
 
 service in July, 1854, tried farming and the real 
 estate business with moderate success, and finally 
 was taken by his father as a partner in his leather 
 store at Galena. 
 
 He was yet thus humbly employed when Presi- 
 dent Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 three 
 months' men. Marching to Springfield at the 
 head of a company of volunteers, his military 
 knowledge made him exceedingly useful to Gov- 
 ernor Yates, who retained him as mustering- officer, 
 
 o 
 
 until he was commissioned colonel of the Twenty- 
 first Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, on the I7th of 
 June, 1861. The following August, having been 
 made a brigadier-general, he took command at Cai-
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 ro, where he displayed much activity and attracted 
 some attention. On the jth of November he 
 fought the Battle of Belmont, where he had a 
 horse shot under him. His capture of Fort Don- 
 elson, with all its defenders, on the i5th of Febru- 
 ary, 1862, after a severe battle resulting in the first 
 real and substantial triumph of the war, at once 
 gave Grant a national reputation. For this bril- 
 liant victory he was immediately rewarded by a 
 commission as major-general of volunteers. 
 
 Soon after the capture of Donelson, General 
 Grant was placed in command of an important 
 expedition up the Tennessee River. At Pittsburg 
 Landing, while preparing for an attack on Corinth, 
 a part of his army was surprised, at daybreak of 
 the 6th of April, by an overwhelming force of 
 Confederates, and driven from their camp with 
 severe loss. Rallying his men that evening under 
 the protection of the gun-boats, Grant, having 
 been reinforced during the night, renewed the 
 battle the following morning, and, after an obsti- 
 nate contest, compelled the enemy to fall back 
 upon Corinth. 
 
 In July, General Grant was placed in command 
 of the Department of West Tennessee, with his 
 headquarters at Corinth, which the Confederates 
 had evacuated in the previous May. On the iQth 
 of September he gained a complete victory over 
 the Confederates at luka, and then removed his 
 headquarters to Jackson, Tennessee. Vicksburg,
 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 on the Mississippi, having- been strongly fortified 
 and garrisoned by the enemy, the duty of taking 
 that place devolved upon Grant. After several 
 attempts against it from the north, all of which 
 resulted more or less disastrously, he finally 
 moved his army down the west bank of the river, 
 and, crossing to the east side, at a point below the 
 city, began, on the i8th of May, 1863, a formal 
 siege, which lasted until the 4th of the ensuing 
 July, when the place was surrendered, with nearly 
 thirty thousand prisoners and an immense amount 
 of military stores. 
 
 Grant's capture of Vicksburg, the result of that 
 tenacity of purpose which is a marked trait in his 
 character, was hailed with unbounded delight by 
 the whole country. He was immediately commis- 
 sioned a major-general in the regular army, and 
 placed in command of the entire military Division 
 of the Mississippi. Congress also, meeting in 
 December, ordered a gold medal to be struck for 
 him, and passed resolutions of thanks to him and 
 his army. Still further, a bill reviving the grade 
 of lieutenant-general was passed, and, on the ist 
 of March, 1864, Grant was appointed by Presi- 
 dent Lincoln to the position thus created. 
 
 Having now been placed at the head of an 
 army of seven hundred thousand men, Grant, 
 announcing that his headquarters would be in the 
 field, " at once planned two movements, to be di- 
 rected simultaneously against vital points of the
 
 488 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Confederacy." One of these, with Richmond for 
 its point of attack, he commanded in person ; the 
 other, against Atlanta, in Georgia, was headed by 
 General Sherman. 
 
 On the 3d of May, Grant began the movement 
 against Richmond, crossing the Rapidan, and 
 pushing determinedly into the " Wilderness," 
 where, met by Lee, a bloody battle was fought, 
 foiling his first attempt to place himself between 
 the Confederate Army and their threatened capi- 
 tal. Advancing by the left flank, he was again 
 confronted by Lee at Spottsylvania, and com- 
 pelled to make another flank movement, resulting 
 in his again being brought to a stand by his wary 
 antagonist. Declaring his determination "to 
 fight it out on this line if it took him all summer," 
 Grant still pushed on by a series of flank move- 
 ments, each culminating in a sanguinary battle, 
 in which his losses were fearful, and finally, pass- 
 ing Richmond on the east, crossed the James, 
 and laid siege to the city of Petersburg, the cap- 
 ture of which now became the great problem of 
 the war. 
 
 Grant crossed the James on the 1 5th of June, 
 
 1864. It was not until the beginning of April, 
 
 1865, after a series of desperate assaults, coming 
 to a crisis in the battle of Five Forks, in which 
 Grant gained a crowning triumph, that Peters- 
 burg finally succumbed. The fall of Petersburg 
 compelled Lee to evacuate Richmond with the
 
 UL YSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 meagre remnant of his army. He retreated 
 westward toward Danville, followed closely by 
 Grant. At the same time Sherman, who had met 
 with almost unparalleled success in his part of the 
 concerted movement, was marching triumphantly 
 through Alabama and Georgia to the sea-coast, 
 along which he swept northward, and was threat- 
 ening Lee from another quarter, so that, placed 
 between two large armies, both flushed with vic- 
 tory, no other resource was left him than to sur- 
 render the thin remnant of his force. This he 
 did, to Grant, at Appomattox Court-House, on the 
 9th of April, 1865, and the "Great Rebellion " was 
 thus virtually brought to a close. 
 
 On the conclusion of the war, Grant made 
 Washington his headquarters, and was, in July, 
 1866, commissioned General of the United States 
 Army a rank which had been specially created 
 to do him honor. In August, 1867, he for awhile 
 acted as Secretary of War ad interim under 
 President Johnson ; but, notwithstanding the lat- 
 ter's earnest request to the contrary, he, when the 
 Senate refused to sanction Stanton's removal, 
 restored the position to that gentleman, from 
 whom it had been taken. 
 
 In the Republican National Convention, held at 
 Chicago, on the 2istof May, 1868, General Grant 
 was on the first ballot unanimously nominated as 
 the candidate of that party for the Presidency. 
 His Democratic competitor was Horatio Sey-
 
 ' 
 
 AGO OUR ' DORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 mour, of New York. The election resulted in 
 Grant receiving two hundred and fourteen out of 
 two hundred and ninety-four electoral votes. He 
 was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1869. 
 Though brought into conflict with some of the 
 prominent men of his party by his determined 
 effort to bring about the annexation of San Do- 
 mingo to the United States, President Grant's 
 first official term gave satisfaction to the mass of 
 his Republican adherents. During the first six 
 months of his term the public debt was reduced 
 some fifty millions of dollars, order and prosper- 
 ity were rapidly restored throughout the Southern 
 States, and the hatred and animosities of the war 
 were greatly softened, though Grant's firmness in 
 many instances had begotten severe opposition. 
 
 In their National Convention at Philadelphia, 
 on the 5th of June, 1872, he was nominated by 
 acclamation for a second term. His opponent in 
 this contest was Horace Greeley, who was sup- 
 ported by both the Democrats and the so-called 
 Liberal Republicans. The election resulted in 
 the success of General Grant, who received two 
 hundred and sixty-eight out of the three hundred 
 and forty-eight electoral votes cast. He was in- 
 augurated a second time on the 4th of March, 
 
 1873- 
 
 Grant's second term was one of improving 
 
 prospects, though the transitions from the exces- 
 sive inflations attendant on the war to the solid
 
 GENERAL GRANT'S "WELCOME HO.ME" IN PHILADELPHIA.
 
 UL YSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 business basis of peace made financial affairs un- 
 steady and led to the famous panic of '73. But 
 prosperity returned gradually and on a more solid 
 basis, and the great Centennial Exposition of 1876, 
 at Philadelphia, was a fitting crown upon the final 
 year of Grant's eight years of Presidential work 
 and honor. In his last message to Congress 
 he urged compulsory common-school education 
 where other means of education are not provided; 
 the exclusion of all sectarianism from public 
 schools; the prohibition of voting, after 1890, to 
 all persons unable to read and write ; the perma- 
 nent separation of Church and State; entire reli- 
 gious freedom for all sects, and legislation to 
 speedily secure a return to sound currency. 
 
 General Grant was strongly urged to accept 
 the nomination for a third term, but declined the 
 honor and retired to private life, March 4th, 1877. 
 After his long-continued public service, an ex- 
 tended trip abroad was deemed desirable by the 
 General. Arrangements were matured accord- 
 ingly, and on May lyth, 1877, he sailed from Phila- 
 delphia in the steamer Indiana. His journey was 
 prosperous in every respect. He made the tour 
 of the world and reached San Francisco Septem- 
 ber 2Oth, 1879. Everywhere he was the recipient 
 of the highest honors. The most distinguished 
 
 o o 
 
 crowned heads and military leaders of all nations 
 were proud to do him honor, and he in return did 
 many personal friendly offices which were most
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 gratefully recognized. He finally settled in New 
 York city, where he is justly honored and highly 
 appreciated by all. 
 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 
 
 RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES, 
 the nineteenth incumbent of the Presiden- 
 tial chair, was born at Delaware, Ohio, 
 October 4th, 1822. He enjoyed the most favorable 
 surroundings of refinement and culture in his 
 youth, and graduated at Kenyon College in 1842. 
 In 1845, h e graduated from the Harvard Law 
 School and began practice in Fremont, Ohio, 
 from which place he removed to Cincinnati in 1849. 
 He served as City Solicitor for several years, 
 until the breaking out of the war, when he took 
 the field as major of the Twenty- third Ohio Volun- 
 teers. He had a splendid record, rising to the com- 
 mand of a division, being breveted major-general, 
 and continuing until June ist, 1865, when he re- 
 signed his rank and returned to Cincinnati. 
 
 In December, 1865, he entered Congress, to 
 which he had been elected before he left the army. 
 He was re-elected to this position, but resigned 
 to become Governor of Ohio, to which office he 
 was three times chosen, an honor never before 
 conferred in that State. The prominent issues in 
 his last campaign for the Governorship were the

 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 
 
 currency and the school questions. So satis- 
 factory were his views on these measures, that he 
 received much favorable mention for nomination 
 in the Presidential campaign then approaching. 
 
 On June i6th, 1876, the Republican Convention 
 met at Cincinnati, and on the seventh ballot 
 Hayes received the nomination over James G. 
 Blaine and Benjamin H. Bristow. Hayes received 
 three hundred and eighty-four votes, Blaine three 
 hundred and fifty-one, and Bristow twenty-one. 
 The contest was bitter in the Convention and in 
 the succeeding canvass, and its close was a disputed 
 election, the electoral votes of Florida, South Caro- 
 lina, and Louisiana being claimed by both parties, 
 as was one electoral vote of Oregon also. The 
 contest was finally referred to an Electoral Com- 
 mission, which decided by a vote of eight to seven 
 that Hayes was elected, and he, accordingly, suc- 
 ceeded General Grant in the office on March 4th, 
 1877, the inauguration occurring on the next day, 
 Monday, March 5th. The great feature of this 
 Administration was the full resumption of specie 
 payments, a success achieved without jar or con- 
 fusion of any kind in the business of the country. 
 
 At the close of his term, March 4th, 1881, Mr. 
 Hayes turned over the Administration to his suc- 
 cessor amid peace and prosperity such as the na- 
 tion seldom enjoyed, and returned to his home in 
 Ohio, where he still lives (June, 1884), respected 
 and beloved by all his fellow-citizens.
 
 498 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 THE nation's choice for the twenty-fourth 
 Presidential term, James Abram Garfield, 
 was born November i gth, 1 83 1 , at Orange, 
 Cuyahoga County, Ohio. His ancestors were early 
 immigrants of New England, and they bore noble 
 part in all the hardships and sufferings of the Rev- 
 olutionary and earlier periods. His parents were 
 Abram and Eliza Garfield, his father dying when 
 James was but a child, and his mother surviving to 
 see his exaltation to the -Presidency and his un- 
 timely end. 
 
 James Garfield's early life was one filled with 
 the struggles incident to poverty on the frontier 
 settlements. On the farm, on the canal, and at 
 the carpenter's bench, he toiled energetically, read- 
 ing and studying all the while, that he might fit 
 himself for college. He finally betook himself to 
 teaching as a means of subsistence, and while so 
 engaged pressed his own education diligently. He 
 decided to enter Williams College, Mass., which 
 he did, in June, 1854, in a class nearly two years 
 advanced. He had saved some money, but he 
 worked during his vacations and at spare mo- 
 ments, and so was enabled to complete his course, 
 though somewhat in debt, graduating August, 1856. 
 While yet a student, he became much interested in 
 politics and made some speeches on his favorite 
 views.
 
 JAMES A. GARPIELD. 
 
 After his graduation, he entered Hiram College, 
 Ohio, as a teacher of ancient languages and liter- 
 ature, and soon after became its President. Mean- 
 while, he was active in a wide variety of good 
 works, preaching, addressing temperance -meet- 
 ings, making political speeches, and at the same 
 time pursuing the study of the law. In 1858, he 
 married Lucretia Rudolph, who had been a fellow- 
 student with him in his academic schooldays. 
 
 As a logical and effective political speaker, Gar- 
 field soon became prominent, and in 1859 was 
 elected to the Senate of his native State, where he 
 immediately took high rank, although he still con- 
 tinued to be much engaged in literary and relig- 
 ious work. In August, 1861, he solemnly consid- 
 ered the question of entering the army, and wrote 
 his conclusion thus : " I regard my life as given to 
 my country. I am only anxious to make as much 
 of it as possible before the mortgage on it is fore- 
 closed." 
 
 As a soldier, Garfield was thorough, brave, and 
 efficient. He had a large share of hard fighting in 
 the West and the Southwest, but he won high praise 
 in it all, rising from the rank of lieutenant-colonel 
 to that of brigadier-general and chief of staff to 
 General Rosecrans, in which capacity he served 
 until the battle of Chickamauga had been fought, 
 when he was promoted to a major-generalship 
 for "gallant and meritorious conduct" on that 
 bloody field.
 
 C O 2 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Just before this battle, Garfield had been chosen 
 by his fellow-citizens in Ohio as their representa- 
 tive in Congress. To accept this post was deemed 
 his duty by all his friends and advisers, so he re- 
 signed his commission on the 5th of December, 
 1863, an d took his place in Congress at less than 
 half the salary drawn by one of his military rank. 
 In this new position he exercised the same earn- 
 est conscientiousness' he had ever shown. He was 
 a master workman in every line of duty there for 
 seventeen years, during which period he left the 
 imprint of his ability and patriotism as thoroughly 
 upon the legislation of the country as any one 
 man in public service. He certainly realized the 
 meaning of the title, "a public benefactor," as de- 
 fined in his own speech made on December loth, 
 1878, in which he said: "The man who wants to 
 serve his country must put himself in the line of 
 its leading thought, and that is the restoration of 
 business, trade, commerce, industry, sound polit- 
 ical economy, hard money, and the payment of all 
 obligations, and the man who can add anything in 
 the direction of accomplishing any of these pur- 
 poses is a public benefactor." 
 
 No man with such an ideal could fail to at once 
 take high rank. Nor did Garfield fail to do so. 
 At the outset he was recognized as a leader, and 
 his influence grew with his service. He was at 
 once appointed on the Military Committee, under 
 the chairmanship of General Schenck and the col-
 
 GEN. GARFIELD-S HOME, MENTOR, OHIO.
 
 JAMES A. GARF1ELD. 
 
 leagueship of Farnsworth, both fresh from the 
 field. In this work he was of great service just 
 as Rosecrans anticipated he would be. His thor- 
 ough knowledge of the wants of the army was of 
 the first value in all legislation pertaining to mil- 
 itary matters. He was appointed chairman of a 
 select committee of seven appointed to investigate 
 the alleged frauds in the money-printing bureau 
 of the Treasury, and on other very important and 
 complicated matters he rendered service of the 
 greatest value. 
 
 He did most excellent work, as an orator, on 
 many momentous questions, as the following partial 
 list of his published Congressional speeches will 
 show: "Free Commerce between the States;" 
 " National Bureau of Education ;" " The Public 
 Debt and Specie Payments ;" "Taxation of United 
 States Bonds ;" " Ninth Census ;" " Public Expen- 
 ditures and Civil Service ;"" The Tariff;" "Cur- 
 rency and the Banks ;" " Debate on the Currency 
 Bill ;" " On the McGarrahan Claim ;" " The Right 
 to Originate Revenue Bills ;" " Public Expendi- 
 tures ;" ' National Aid to Education ," " The Cur- 
 rency ;" " Revenues and Expenditures ;" " Curren- 
 cy and the Public Faith ;" "Appropriations;" "Count- 
 ing the Electoral Vote ;" " Repeal of the Resump- 
 tion Law ;" " The New Scheme of American Fi- 
 nance ;" "The Tariff;"" Suspension and Resump- 
 tion of Specie Payments ;" " Relation of the Na- 
 tional Government to Science ;" " Sugar Tariff."
 
 506 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 It was a surprise to nobody, but a real pleasure 
 to multitudes, when at Chicago, on June 8th, 1880, 
 James A. Garfield received the nomination for 
 the Presidency by three hundred and ninety-nine 
 votes in a total of seven hundred and fifty-five. 
 This was upon the thirty-sixth ballot of the nomi- 
 nating Convention, but not until then had Garfield 
 been prominently brought forward. His nomi- 
 nation was at once made unanimous in the Con- 
 vention, and hailed with joy throughout the land. 
 His chief opponent was the superb soldier, Major- 
 General Winfield S. Hancock, but Garfield and 
 Arthur received two hundred and fourteen of 
 three hundred and sixty-nine electoral votes and 
 secured the highest offices in the gift of the na- 
 tion. 
 
 Garfield was inaugurated amid general satisfac- 
 tion throughout the nation. His venerable mother 
 saw her son's exaltation on that memorable In- 
 auguration Day, and received from him, as the 
 newly made President, his kiss of filial love. 
 Every department of the public service felt the 
 force of the new regime, and prosperity beamed 
 on every side until the fatal Saturday, July 2d, 
 1 88 1, when the assassin's bullet cut short the era 
 of joy and hopefulness which had just fairly 
 dawned. Of the subsequent weeks of suffering 
 and anxiety, through which that valuable life 
 trembled in the balance, while the nation's hopes 
 and fears rose and fell alternately, and of the sad,
 
 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD, 
 
 SECT. OF THE INTERIOR. 
 
 PRESIDENT GARFIELD'S CABINET.
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 509 
 
 sad end at Elberon, New Jersey, on September 
 29th, the world is well informed. The wound 
 then made in the nation's heart is open still, and 
 further mention need not here be made of those 
 agonizing- and still fresh experiences. But the 
 fittest tribute that can here be paid to Garfield's 
 memory is from the lips of his intimate associate and 
 fellow-worker, Hon. James G. Elaine. By request 
 of the national authorities, he delivered, February 
 2yth, 1882, the official eulogy upon the deceased 
 President. All the magnates of the capital were 
 present in the Hall of Representatives to hear 
 that oration, from which masterly effort the follow- 
 ing somewhat disconnected, but none the less 
 effective, paragraphs are taken : 
 
 No manly man feels anything of shame in 
 looking back to early struggles with adverse cir- 
 cumstances, and no man feels a worthier pride than 
 when he has conquered the obstacles in his pro- 
 gress. But no one of noble mold desires to be 
 looked upon as having occupied a menial position, 
 as having been repressed by a feeling of inferiority, 
 or as having suffered the evils of poverty until re- 
 lief was found at the hand of charity. General 
 Garfield's youth presented no hardships which 
 family love and family energy did not overcome, 
 subjected him to no privations which he did not 
 cheerfully accept, and left no memories save those 
 which were recalled with delight and transmitted 
 with profit and with pride.
 
 5 i o OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Garfield's early opportunities for securing an 
 education were extremely limited, and yet were 
 sufficient to develop in him an intense desire to 
 learn. He could read at three years of age, and 
 each winter he had the advantage of the district 
 school. He read all the books to be found within 
 the circle of his acquaintance ; some of them he 
 got by heart. While yet in childhood he was a 
 constant student of the Bible, and became familiar 
 with its literature. The dignity and earnestness 
 of his speech in his maturer life gave evidence of 
 this early training. At eighteen years of age he 
 was able to teach school, and thenceforward his 
 ambition was to obtain a college education. To 
 this end he bent all his efforts, working in the har- 
 vest field, at the carpenter's bench, and, in the 
 winter season, teaching the common schools of 
 the neighborhood. W T hile thus laboriously occu- 
 pied he found time to prosecute his studies, and 
 was so successful that at twenty-two years of age 
 he was able to enter the junior class at Williams 
 College, then under the presidency of the vener- 
 able and honored Mark Hopkins, who, in the full- 
 ness of his powers, survives the eminent pupil to 
 whom he was of inestimable service. 
 
 The history of Garfield's life to this period pre- 
 sents no novel features. He had undoubtedly 
 shown perseverance, self-reliance, self-sacrifice, 
 and ambition qualities which, be it said for the 
 honor of our country, are everywhere to be found
 
 JAMES A. GAR FIELD. e j j 
 
 among the young men of America. But from his 
 graduation at Williams onward, to the hour of 
 his tragical death, Garfield's career was eminent 
 and exceptional. Slowly working through his 
 educational period, receiving his diploma when 
 twenty-four years of age, he seemed at one bound 
 to spring into conspicuous and brilliant success. 
 Within six years he was successively president of 
 a college, State Senator of Ohio, Major-General 
 of the Army of the United States, and Repre- 
 sentative-elect to the National Congress. A 
 combination of honors so varied, so elevated, within 
 a period so brief, and to a man so young, is without 
 precedent or parallel in the history of the country. 
 Garfield's army life was begun with no other 
 military knowledge than such as he had hastily 
 gained from books in the few months preceding 
 his march to the field. Stepping from civil life to 
 the head of a regiment, the first order he received 
 when ready to cross the Ohio, was to assume com- 
 mand of a brigade, and to operate as an indepen- 
 dent force in Eastern Kentucky. His immediate 
 duty was to check the advance of Humphrey 
 Marshall, who was marching down the Big Sandy 
 with the intention of occupying, in connection with 
 other Confederate forces, the entire territory of 
 Kentucky, and of precipitating the State into se- 
 cession. This was at the close of the year 1861. 
 Seldom, if ever, has a young college professor 
 been thrown into a more embarrassing and dis-
 
 c i 2 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 couraging position. He knew just enough of 
 military science, as he expressed it himself, to 
 measure the extent of his ignorance, and with a 
 handful of men he was marching, in rough winter 
 weather, into a strange country, among a hostile 
 population, to confront a largely superior force 
 under the command of a distinguished graduate 
 of West Point, who had seen active and import- 
 ant service in two preceding wars. 
 
 The result of the campaign is matter of history. 
 The skill, the endurance, the extraordinary energy 
 shown byGarfield, the courage he imparted to his 
 men, raw and untried as himself, the measures he 
 adopted to increase his force and to create in the 
 enemy's mind exaggerated estimates of his num- 
 bers, bore perfect fruit in the routing of Marshall, 
 the capture of his camp, the dispersion of his 
 force, and the emancipation of an important 
 territory from the control of the Rebellion. Com- 
 ing at the close of a long series of disasters to 
 the Union arms, Garfield's victory had an unusual 
 and extraneous importance, and in the popular 
 judgment elevatecf the young commander to the 
 rank of a military hero. With less than two 
 thousand men in his entire command, with a mo- 
 bilized force of only eleven hundred, without can- 
 non, he had met an army of five thousand and 
 defeated them, driving Marshall's forces succes- 
 sively from two strongholds of their own selec- 
 tion, fortified with abundant artillery. Major-
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. c ! 3 
 
 General Buell, commanding the Department of 
 the Ohio, an experienced and able soldier of the 
 Regular Army, published an order of thanks and 
 congratulation on the brilliant result of the Big 
 Sandy campaign, which would have turned the 
 head of a less cool and sensible man than Gar- 
 field. Buell declared that his services, had called 
 into action the highest qualities of a soldier, and 
 President Lincoln supplemented these words of 
 praise by the more substantial reward of a briga- 
 dier-general's commission, to bear date from the 
 day of his decisive victory over Marshall. 
 
 Early in 1863, Garfield was assigned to the 
 highly important and responsible post of chief of 
 staff to General Rosecrans, then at the head of 
 the Army of the Cumberland. Perhaps in a great 
 military campaign, no subordinate officer requires 
 sounder judgment and quicker knowledge of men 
 than the chief of staff to the commanding general. 
 An indiscreet man in such a position can sow more 
 discord, breed more jealousy, and disseminate 
 more strife than any other officer in the entire or- 
 ganization. When General Garfield assumed his 
 new duties he found various troubles already well 
 developed, and seriously affecting the value and 
 efficiency of the Army of the Cumberland. The en- 
 ergy, the impartiality, and the tact with which he 
 sought to allay these dissensions, and to discharge 
 the duties of his new and trying position, will 
 always remain one of the most striking proofs of
 
 5'4 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 his great versatility. His military duties closed 
 on the memorable field of Chickamauga, a field 
 which, however disastrous to the Union arms, gave 
 to him the occasion of winning imperishable laurels. 
 The very rare distinction was accorded him of a 
 great promotion for his bravery on a field that 
 was lost. President Lincoln appointed him a ma- 
 jor-general in the army of the United States for 
 gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of 
 Chickamauga. 
 
 The Army of the Cumberland was reorganized 
 under the command of General Thomas, who 
 promptly offered Garfield one of its divisions. He 
 was extremely desirous to accept the position, but 
 was embarrassed by the fact that he had, a year 
 before, been elected to Congress, and the time 
 when he must take his seat was drawing near. 
 He preferred to remain in the military service, and 
 had within his own breast the largest confidence 
 of success in the wider field which his new rank 
 opened to him. Balancing the arguments on the 
 one side and the other, anxious to determine what 
 was for the best, desirous above all things to do 
 his patriotic duty, he was decisively influenced by 
 the advice of President Lincoln and Secretary 
 Stanton, both of whom assured him that he could, 
 at that time, be of especial value in the House of 
 Representatives. He resigned his commission of 
 Major-General on the fifth day of December, 1863, 
 and took his seat in the house of Representatives
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 515 
 
 on the seventh. He had served two years and 
 four months in the army, and had just completed 
 his thirty-second year. 
 
 The Thirty-Eighth Congress is pre-eminently 
 entitled in history to the designation of the War 
 Congress. It was elected while the war was fla- 
 grant, and every member was chosen upon the is- 
 sues involved in the continuance of the struggle. 
 The Thirty-Seventh Congress had, indeed, legis- 
 lated to a large extent on war measures, but it 
 was chosen before any one believed that secession 
 of the States would be actually attempted. The 
 magnitude of the work which fell upon its suc- 
 cessor was unprecedented, both in respect to the 
 vast sums of money raised for the support of the 
 army and navy, and of the new and extraordinary 
 powers of legislation which it was forced to ex- 
 ercise. Only twenty-four States were represented, 
 and one hundred and eighty-two members were 
 upon its roll. Among these were many dis- 
 tinguished party leaders on both sides, veterans 
 in the public service, with established reputations 
 for ability, and with that skill which comes only 
 from parliamentary experience. Into this assem- 
 blage of men Garfield entered without special 
 preparation, and it might almost be said unex- 
 pectedly. The question of taking command of a 
 division of troops under General Thomas, or tak- 
 ing his seat in Congress, was kept open till the 
 last moment so late, indeed, that the resignation
 
 5 i 6 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 of his military commission and his appearance in 
 the House were almost contemporaneous. He 
 wore the uniform of a Major-General of the 
 United States Army on Saturday, and on Monday, 
 in civilian's dress, he answered to the roll-call as a 
 Representative in Congress from the State of 
 Ohio. 
 
 With possibly a single exception, Garfield w^s 
 the youngest member in the House when he en- 
 tered, and was but seven years from his college 
 graduation. But he had not been in his seat sixty 
 days before his ability was recognized and his place 
 conceded. He stepped to the front with the confi- 
 dence of one who belonged there. The House 
 was crowded with strong men of both parties ; 
 nineteen of them have since been transferred to 
 the Senate, and many of them have served with 
 distinction in the gubernatorial chairs of their re- 
 spective States, and on foreign missions of great 
 consequence ; but among them all none grew so 
 rapidly, none so firmly as Garfield. As is said by 
 Trevelyan of his parliamentary hero, Garfield suc- 
 ceeded " because all the world in concert could 
 not have kept him in the background, and because 
 when once in the front he played his part with a 
 prompt intrepidity and a commanding ease that 
 were but the outward symptoms of the immense 
 reserves of energy on which it was in his power 
 to draw." Indeed, the apparently reserved force 
 which Garfield possessed was one of his great
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 517 
 
 characteristics. He never did so well but that it 
 seemed he could easily have done better. He 
 never expended so much strength but that he 
 seemed to be holding additional power at call. 
 This is one of the happiest and rarest distinctions 
 of an effective debater, and often counts for as 
 much in persuading an assembly as the eloquent 
 and elaborate argument. 
 
 The great measure of Garfield's fame was filled 
 by his service in the House of Representatives. 
 His military life, illustrated by honorable perform- 
 ance, and rich in promise, was, as he himself felt, 
 prematurely terminated, and necessarily incom- 
 plete. Speculation as to what he might have done 
 in a field where the great prizes are so few, cannot 
 be profitable. It is sufficient to say that, as a sol- 
 dier, he did his duty bravely; he did it intelligently; 
 he won an enviable fame, and he retired from the 
 service without blot or breath against him. As a 
 lawyer, though admirably equipped for the pro- 
 fession, he can scarcely be said to have entered on 
 its. practice. The few efforts he made at the bar 
 were distinguished by the same high order of talent 
 which he exhibited on every field where he was 
 put to the test, and if a man may be accepted as a 
 competent judge of his own capacities and adapta- 
 tions, the law was the profession to which Garfield 
 should have devoted himself. But fate ordained 
 otherwise, and his reputation in history will rest 
 largely upon his service in the House of Repre-
 
 518 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 sentatives, to a place in which he was chosen for 
 nine consecutive terms, 
 
 Garfield's nomination to the Presidency, while 
 not predicted or anticipated, was not a surprise to 
 the country. His prominence in Congress, his 
 solid qualities, his wide reputation, strengthened 
 by his then recent election as Senator from Ohio, 
 kept him in the public eye as a man occupying the 
 very highest rank among those entitled to be 
 called statesmen. It was not mere chance that 
 brought him this high honor. "We must," says 
 Mr. Emerson, " reckon success a constitutional 
 trait. If Eric is in robust health, and has slept 
 well, and is at the top of his condition, and thirty 
 years old at his departure from Greenland, he will 
 steer west, and his ships will reach Newfoundland. 
 But take Eric out, and put in a stronger and bolder 
 man, and the ships will sail six hundred, one thou- 
 sand, fifteen hundred miles farther, and reach Lab- 
 rador and New England. There is no chance in 
 results." 
 
 As a candidate, Garfield steadily grew in popu- 
 lar favor. He was met with a storm of detraction 
 at the very hour of his nomination, and it con- 
 tinued with increasing volume and momentum 
 until the close of his victorous campaign: 
 
 " No might nor greatness in mortality 
 Can censure 'scape ; back-wounding calumny 
 The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong 
 Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue ?"
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 519 
 
 Under it all he was calm, and strong, and confi- 
 dent; never lost his self-possession, did no unwise 
 act, spoke no hasty or ill-considered word. In- 
 deed, nothing in his whole life is more remark- 
 able or more creditable than his bearing- through 
 those five full months of vituperation a prolonged 
 agony of trial to a sensitive man, a constant and 
 cruel draft upon the powers of moral endurance. 
 The great mass of these unjust imputations passed 
 unnoticed, and with the general debris of the cam- 
 paign fell into oblivion. But in a few instances 
 the iron entered his soul, and he died with the in- 
 jury unforgotten, if not unforgiven. 
 
 One aspect of Garfield's candidacy was unpre- 
 cedented. Never before, in the history of partisan 
 contests in this country, had a successful Presiden- 
 tial candidate spoken freely on passing events and 
 current issues. To attempt anything of the kind 
 seemed novel, rash, and even desperate. The 
 older class of voters recalled the unfortunate Ala- 
 bama letter, in which Mr. Clay was supposed to 
 have signed his political death warrant. They re- 
 membered also the hot-tempered effusion by 
 which General Scott lost a large share of his 
 popularity before his nomination, and the unfor- 
 tunate speeches which rapidly consumed the re- 
 mainder. The younger voters had seen Mr. 
 Greeley in a series of vigorous and original ad- 
 dresses, preparing the pathway for his own defeat. 
 Unmindful of these warnings, unheeding the ad-
 
 520 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 vice of friends, Garfield spoke to large crowds as 
 he journeyed to and from New York in August, 
 to a great multitude in that city, to delegations 
 and deputations of every kind that called at Mentor 
 during the summer and autumn. With innumer- 
 able critics, watchful and eager to catch a phrase 
 that might be turned into odium or ridicule, or a 
 sentence that micrht be distorted to his own or 
 
 o 
 
 his party's injury, Garfield did not trip or halt in 
 any one of his seventy speeches. This seems all 
 the more remarkable when it is remembered that 
 he did not write what he said, and yet spoke with 
 such logical consecutiveness of thought, and such 
 admirable precision of phrase as to defy the acci- 
 dent of misreport, and the malignity of misrepre- 
 sentation. 
 
 In the beginning of his Presidential life, Gar- 
 field's experience did not yield him pleasure or 
 satisfaction. The duties that engross so large a 
 portion of the President's time were distasteful to 
 him, and were unfavorably contrasted with his 
 legislative work. " I have been dealing all these 
 years with ideas," he impatiently exclaimed one day, 
 " and here I am dealing only with persons. I have 
 been heretofore treating of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of government, and here I am considering 
 all day whether A or B shall be appointed to this 
 or that office." He was earnestly seeking some 
 practical way of correcting the evils arising from 
 the distribution of overgrown and unwieldy pat-
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 521 
 
 ronage evils always appreciated and often dis- 
 cussed by him, but whose magnitude had been more 
 deeply impressed upon his mind since his acces- 
 sion to the Presidency. Had he lived, a compre- 
 hensive improvement in the mode of appointments 
 would have been proposed by him. 
 
 Garfield's ambition for the success of His ad- 
 ministration was high. With strong caution and 
 conservatism in his nature, he was in no danger 
 of attempting rash experiments or of resorting to 
 the empiricism of statesmanship. But he believed 
 that renewed and closer attention should be given 
 to questions affecting the material interests and 
 commercial prospects of fifty millions of people. 
 He believed that our continental relations, exten- 
 sive and undeveloped as they are, involved re- 
 sponsibility, and could be cultivated into profitable 
 friendship or be abandoned to harmless indiffer- 
 ence or lasting enmity. He believed with equal 
 confidence that an essential forerunner to a new 
 era of national progress must be a feeling of con- 
 tentment in every section of the Union, and a 
 generous belief that the benefits and burdens of 
 government would be common to all. Himself a 
 conspicuous illustration of what ability and am- 
 bition may do under republican institutions, he 
 loved his country with a passion of patriotic de- 
 votion, and every waking thought was given to 
 her advancement. He was an American in all 
 his aspirations, and he looked to the destiny and
 
 -22 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 
 
 influence of the United States with the philosophic 
 composure of Jefferson and the demonstrative 
 confidence of John Adams. 
 
 The religious element in Garfield's character 
 was deep and earnest. In his early youth, he 
 espoused the faith of the Disciples, a sect of that 
 great Baptist Communion, which, in different 
 ecclesiastical establishments, is so numerous and 
 so influential throughout all parts of the United 
 States. But the broadening tendency of his mind 
 and his active spirit of inquiry were early appar- 
 ent and carried him beyond the dogmas of sect 
 and the restraints of association. In selecting a 
 college in which to continue his education he 
 rejected Bethany, though presided over by Alex- 
 ander Campbell, the greatest preacher of his 
 Church. His reasons were characteristic : first, 
 that Bethany leaned too heavily towards slavery ; 
 and, second, that being himself a Disciple and the 
 son of Disciple parents, he had little acquaintance 
 with people of other beliefs, and he thought it 
 would make him more liberal, quoting his own 
 words, both in his religious and general views, to 
 go into a new circle and be under new influences. 
 
 The liberal tendency which he anticipated as the 
 result of wider culture was fully realized. He 
 was emancipated from mere sectarian belief, and 
 with eager interest pushed his investigations in 
 the direction of modern progressive thought. He 
 followed with quickening step into the paths of
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 exploration and speculation so fearlessly trodden 
 by Darwin, by Huxley, by Tyndall, and by other 
 living scientists of the radical and advanced type. 
 His own Church, binding its disciples by no for- 
 mulated creed, but accepting the Old and New 
 Testaments as the word of God, with unbiased 
 liberty of private interpretation, favored, if it did 
 not stimulate, the spirit of investigation. Its mem- 
 bers profess with sincerity, and profess only, to be 
 of one mind and of one faith with those who im- 
 mediately followed the Master, and who were first 
 called Christians at Antioch. 
 
 But however high Garfield reasoned of " fixed 
 fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute," he was 
 never separated from the Church of the Disciples 
 in his affections and in his associations. For him 
 it held the ark of the covenant. To him it was 
 the gate of Heaven. The world of religious belief is 
 full of solecisms and contradictions. A philoso- 
 phic observer declares that men by the thousand 
 will die in defense of a creed whose doctrines 
 they do not comprehend and whose tenets they 
 habitually violate. It is equally true that men by 
 the thousand will cling to Church organizations 
 with instinctive and undying fidelity when their 
 belief in maturer years is radically different from 
 that which inspired them as neophytes. 
 
 But after this range of speculation, and this 
 latitude of doubt, Garfield came back always with 
 freshness and delight to the simpler instincts of
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 religious faith, which, earliest implanted, longest 
 survive. Not many weeks before his assassina- 
 tion, walking on the banks of the Potomac with a 
 friend, and conversing on those topics of personal 
 religion concerning which noble natures have an 
 
 o o 
 
 unconquerable reserve, he said that he found the 
 Lord's Prayer and the simple petitions learned in 
 infancy infinitely restful to him, not merely in their 
 stated repetition, but in their casual and frequent 
 recall as he went about the daily duties of life. 
 Certain texts of Scripture had a very strong hold 
 on his memory and his heart. He heard, while in 
 Edinburgh some years ago, an eminent Scotch 
 preacher who prefaced his sermon with reading 
 the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, 
 which book had been the subject of careful study 
 with Garfield during all his religious life. He was 
 greatly impressed by the elocution of the preacher 
 and declared that it had imparted a new and 
 deeper meaning to the majestic utterances of 
 St. Paul. He referred often in after years to 
 that memorable service, and dwelt with exaltation 
 of feeling upon the radiant promise and the as- 
 sured hope with which the great Apostle of the 
 Gentiles was "persuaded that neither death, nor 
 life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
 nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
 to separate us irom the love of God, which 
 is in Christ Jec;;s our Lord."
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 The crowning characteristic of General Gar- 
 field's religious opinions, as, indeed, of all his opin- 
 ions, was his liberality. In all things he had char- 
 ity. Tolerance was of his nature. He respected 
 in others the qualities which he possessed himself, 
 sincerity of conviction and frankness of expres- 
 sion. With him the inquiry was not so much what 
 a man believes, but does he believe it ? The lines 
 of his friendship and his confidence encircled men 
 of every creed, and men of no creed, and to the 
 end of his life, on his ever-lengthening list of 
 friends, were to be found the names of a pious 
 Catholic priest and of an honest-minded and gen- 
 erous-hearted free-thinker. 
 
 On the morning of Saturday, July 2d, the Presi- 
 dent was a contented and happy man not in an 
 ordinary degree, but joyfully, almost boyishly 
 happy. On his way to the railroad station, to 
 which he drove slowly, in conscious enjoyment of 
 the beautiful morning, with an unwonted sense of 
 leisure and a keen anticipation of pleasure, his 
 talk was all in the grateful and gratulatory vein. 
 He felt that after four months of trial his adminis- 
 tration was strong in its grasp of affairs, strong in 
 popular favor, and destined to grow stronger; 
 that grave difficulties confronting him at his in- 
 auguration had been safely passed ; that trouble 
 lay behind him and not before him ; that he was 
 soon to meet the wife whom he loved, now recov- 
 ering from an illness which had but lately disqui-
 
 526 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 eted and at times almost unnerved him ; that he 
 was going to his Alma Mater to renew the most 
 cherished associations of his young manhood, and 
 to exchange greetings with those whose deepen- 
 ing interest had followed every step of his upward 
 progress from the day he entered upon his college 
 course until he had attained the loftiest elevation 
 in the gift of his countrymen. 
 
 Surely, if happiness can ever come from the 
 honors or triumphs of this world, on that quiet 
 July morning James A. Garfield may well have 
 been a happy man. No foreboding of evil haunted 
 him ; no slightest premonition of danger clouded 
 his sky. His terrible fate was upon him in an 
 instant. One moment he stood erect, strong, con- 
 fident in the years stretching peacefully out before 
 him ; the next he lay wounded, bleeding, helpless, 
 doomed to weary weeks of torture, to silence, and 
 the grave. 
 
 Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. 
 For no cause, in the very frenzy of wantonness 
 and wickedness, by the red hand of murder, he 
 was thrust from the full tide of this world's interest, 
 from its hopes, its aspirations, its victories, into the 
 visible presence of death and he did not quail. 
 Not alone for the one short moment in which, 
 stunned and dazed, he could give up life, hardly 
 aware of its relinquishment, but through days of 
 deadly languor, through weeks of agony, that was 
 not less agony because silently borne, with clear
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 5 2 7 
 
 sight and calm courage, he looked into his open 
 grave. What blight and ruin met his anguished 
 eyes, whose lips may tell ? what brilliant, broken 
 plans ; what baffled, high ambitions ; what sunder- 
 ing of strong, warm, manhood's friendships; what 
 bitter rending of sweet household ties ! Behind 
 him a proud, expectant nation, a great host of sus- 
 taining friends, a cherished and happy mother, 
 wearing the full, rich honors of her early toil and 
 tears ; the wife of his youth, whose whole life lay 
 in his ; the little boys not yet emerged from 
 childhood's days of frolic ; the fair young daughter ; 
 the sturdy sons just springing into closest com- 
 panionship, claiming every day and every day 
 rewarding a father's love and care ; and in his 
 heart the eager, rejoicing power to meet all 
 demands. Before him, desolation and great dark- 
 ness ! And his soul was not shaken. His coun- 
 trymen were thrilled with instant, profound, and 
 universal sympathy. Masterful in his mortal 
 weakness, he became the centre of a nation's love, 
 enshrined in the prayers of a world. But all the 
 love and all the sympathy could not share with 
 him his suffering. He trod the wine-press alone. 
 With unfaltering front he faced death. With 
 mifailing tenderness he took leave of life. Above 
 the demoniac hiss of the assassin's bullet he heard 
 the voice of God. With simple resignation he 
 bowed to the Divine decree. 
 
 As the end drew near, his early craving for the
 
 528 
 
 OUR FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 sea returned. The stately mansion of power had 
 been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, and 
 he begged to be taken from its prison walls, from 
 its oppressive, stifling air, from its homelessness 
 and its hopelessness. Gently, silently, the love of 
 a great people bore the pale sufferer to the longed- 
 for healing of the sea, to live or to die, as God 
 should will, within sight of its heaving billows, 
 within sound of its manifold voices. With wan, 
 fevered face tenderly lifted to the cooling breeze, 
 he looked out wistfully upon the ocean's changing 
 wonders ; on its far sails, whitening in the morn- 
 ing light ; on its restless waves, rolling shoreward 
 to break and die beneath the noonday sun ; on the 
 red clouds of evening, arching low in the horizon ; 
 on the serene and shining pathway of the stars. 
 Let us think that his dying eyes read a mystic mean- 
 ing which only the rapt and parting soul may know. 
 Let us believe that in the silence of the receding 
 world he heard the great waves breaking on a 
 farther shore, and felt already upon his wasted 
 brow the breath of the eternal morning. 
 
 After extended and most impressive funeral 
 obsequies, President Garfield's mortal remains 
 were laid to rest in Lake View Cemetery in the 
 fair City of Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday, Sep- 
 tember 26th, 1 88 1, and thus a new shrine was 
 reared to which the patriotic hearts of America 
 will never cease to turn with profound interest.
 
 CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
 
 CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
 
 THE exodus from foreign lands to this coun- 
 try has at all times since the early years 
 of the present century been remarkable 
 for its steadiness though varying during the de- 
 cades. A home in freedom and a chance for a 
 fortune in climes where centuries have not bound 
 with iron every man's position is always an incen- 
 tive to brave spirits. 
 
 Among those who took the tide in its flow, at 
 the beginning of the twenties, was a young Pro- 
 testant Irishman from Ballymena, County Antrim, 
 who bore the name of William Arthur. He was 
 eighteen years of age, a graduate of Belfast Col- 
 lege, and thoroughly imbued with the intention of 
 becoming a Baptist clergyman. In this he perse- 
 vered, was admitted to the ministry, took a degree 
 of D.D., and followed a career of great usefulness, 
 which did not terminate until he died, at Newton- 
 ville, near Albany, October 27th, 1875. He was 
 in many respects a remarkable man. He acquired 
 a wide fame in his chosen career, and entered suc- 
 cessfully the great competition of authors. He 
 published a work on Family Names that is to- 
 day regarded as one of the curiosities of English 
 erudite literature. 
 
 He married, not long after entering the minis- 
 try, an American, Malvina Stone, who bore him
 
 a family of two sons and five daughters. Of 
 these, Chester Allan, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born at Fairfield, Franklin County, Vermont, 
 October 5th, 1830. From his home studies he 
 went to a wider field of instruction in the insti- 
 tutions of Schenectady, in the grammar school of 
 which place he was prepared for entering Union 
 College. This he did at the age of fifteen (1845), 
 and took successfully the regular course, excelling 
 in all his studies and graduating very high in the 
 class of 1848. 
 
 On graduating he entered the law school at Ball- 
 , ston Springs. By rigid economy and hard work, he 
 had managed to save five hundred dollars, and with 
 this in his pocket he went to New York, and entered 
 the law office of Erastus D. Culver, afterward minis- 
 ter to one of the South American States and a judge 
 of the Civil Court of Brooklyn. Soon after entering 
 Judge Culver's office, he was in 1852 admitted 
 to the bar, and formed the firm of Culver, Partsen 
 & Arthur, which was dissolved in 1 837. No sooner 
 had he won his title to appear in the courts, than 
 he formed a partnership with an old friend, Henry 
 D. Gardner, with an intention of practicing in the 
 West, and for three months these young gentle- 
 men roamed through the Western States in search 
 of a place to locate. In the end, not satisfied, they 
 returned to New York and began practice. 
 
 The law career of Mr. Arthur includes some 
 notable cases. One of his first cases was the cele-
 
 CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
 
 brated Lemmon suit. In 1852, Jonathan and Juliet 
 Lemmon, Virginia slaveholders, intending to emi- 
 grate to Texas, went to New York to await the 
 sailing of a steamer, bringing eight slaves with 
 them. A writ of habeas corpus was obtained from 
 Judge Paine to test the question whether the 
 provisions of the Fugitive Slave Law were in force 
 in that State. Judge Paine rendered a decision 
 holding that they were not, and ordering the Lem- 
 mon slaves to be liberated. Henry L. Clinton 
 was one of the counsel for the slaveholders. A 
 howl of rage went up from the South, and the 
 Virginia Legislature authorized the Attorney- 
 General of that State to assist in taking an appeal. 
 William M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were 
 employed to represent the people, and they won 
 their case, which then went to the Supreme Court 
 of the United States. Charles O'Conor here 
 espoused the cause of the slaveholders, but he, 
 too, was beaten by Messrs. Evarts and Arthur, 
 and a long step was thus taken toward the 
 emancipation of the black race. 
 
 Mr. Arthur always took an interest in politics 
 and the political surroundings of his day. His 
 political life began at the age of fourteen, as a 
 champion of the Whig party. He shared, too, in 
 the turbulence of political life at that period, and 
 it is related of him during the Polk-Clay canvass 
 that, while he and some of his companions were 
 raising an ash pole in honor of Henry Clay, some
 
 V R FORMER PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Democratic boys attacked the party of Whigs, 
 and young Arthur, who was the recognized leader 
 of the party, ordered a charge, and, taking the 
 front ranks himself, drove the young Democrats 
 from the field with broken heads and subdued 
 spirits. He was a delegate to the Saratoga Con- 
 vention that founded the Republican party in New 
 York State. He was active in local politics, and 
 he gradually became one of the leaders. He 
 nominated, and by his efforts elected, the Hon. 
 Thomas Murphy a State Senator. When the 
 latter resigned the Collectorship of the Port, in 
 November, 1871, Arthur was appointed by Presi- 
 dent Grant to fill the vacancy. 
 
 He was nominated for the Vice-Presidency at 
 Chicago on the evening of Tuesday, June loth. 
 He was heartily indorsed by the popular and 
 electoral vote, and on the death of President 
 Garfield, September iQth, 1881, he assumed the 
 Presidential chair. His Administration has been 
 an uneventful one, attended with general peace 
 and prosperity.
 
 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN ALEXANDER LOGAN, 
 
 NOMINEE 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES.
 
 "This Government must be preserved for future gene- 
 rations in the same mold in which it was transmitted to 
 us, if it takes the last man and the last dollar of the 
 present generation within its borders to accomplish it." 
 General John A. Logan, 1862.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE BOY THE STUDENT THE SOLDIER. 
 
 JOHN ALEXANDER LOGAN was the son 
 of Dr. John Logan, a native of Ireland, who 
 when a young man sought a home in the 
 United States. He first settled at Ellicott's Mills, 
 in Maryland, but soon removed thence into Ken- 
 tucky, and from there to Missouri, where he mar- 
 ried Miss Laramie. She died a few years after- 
 ward, leaving a daughter, and the bereaved 
 widower again removed, settling on a tract of land 
 in the fertile county of Jackson, in Illinois. Al- 
 though there had been some old settlements in 
 that region, it was only then filling up with adven- 
 turous pioneers, and the young physician com- 
 menced practice among them, enjoying the privi- 
 lege of witnessing the constantly advancing 
 prosperity and power of his adopted State. 
 
 Soon after settling on his farm, Dr. Logan 
 married Miss Elizabeth Jenkins, a native of Ten- 
 nessee, whose family came originally from South 
 Carolina. She was a lady of rare worth, great 
 industry, unusual strength of judgment, and in- 
 domitable energy. When the town of Murphys- 
 boro' was laid out, partly on Dr. Logan's land, he 
 built a brick hotel there, which was managed to a 
 
 537
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 great extent by his wife. He was naturally a 
 Democrat, and the poor laborer, in his shirt- 
 sleeves, would find accommodations at his house 
 and be seated at the table with the judges and 
 the lawyers riding a circuit. The doctor had a 
 large circle of patients, some of whom would come 
 from long distances to consult him, and he was 
 regarded as an unusually skillful and successful 
 practitioner of the healing art. He also became 
 a large stock raiser, and was always fond of a 
 good horse. In the development of the neighbor- 
 ing coal mines, the establishment of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad, and other public works, he was 
 always consulted, and his opinions had great 
 weight. He was elected by the Democrats to 
 represent his locality in the State Legislature, and 
 he held other trusts. His spotless integrity, his 
 professional skill, and his bluff yet genial manners 
 made him personally popular. He died in 1855, 
 generally beloved and respected. 
 
 John Alexander Logan, the oldest son of John 
 and Elizabeth Jenkins Logan, was born on the 9th 
 of February, 1826. He was raised at the rural 
 home of his parents, and inured to the hardy pur- 
 suits of country life, which developed his physical 
 strength and power of endurance. He did not, 
 however, altogether like the restraints of farm 
 labor, but it developed in him patience, industry, 
 a stout heart, and self-reliance. On one occasion, 
 when he was a small lad, his father found that
 
 THE BOY THE S TUDENT THE S Of. DTE R. r - Q 
 
 the squirrels were carrying off the corn ripening 
 in a field which was bordered by a piece of woods. 
 Young Logan was sent to watch the chattering 
 thieves until his father could find time to come and 
 shoot them. After remaining on guard a few 
 hours, the boy found it rather monotonous, and 
 taking a piece of paper and pencil from his pocket 
 he wrote a note addressed to the squirrels, in- 
 forming them that if they did not keep away from 
 that corn-field they would be shot. Fastening 
 this proclamation to the fence, he joined his play- 
 mates. 
 
 The public schools of the vicinage, which young 
 Logan attended, afforded only limited educational 
 advantages, but Dr. Logan was fortunate enough 
 to secure the services of a Mr. Lynch as tutor, and 
 to thus give his children, under the parental roof, 
 a thorough English education and the rudiments 
 of the classical studies. These John perfected in 
 1840, when he attended Shiloh College. His re- 
 markably tenacious memory enabled him to retain 
 all that he learned. 
 
 While he was a lad political excitement ran high, 
 and he eagerly read all the newspapers which 
 came in his way, naturally espousing the Demo- 
 cratic views entertained by his father. He was 
 fond of music, and occasionally performed on the 
 violin, but his great delight was to discuss the 
 leading topics of the day with the young nren of 
 the vicinity. He was a daring rider, a good shot,
 
 5 dO GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 and the foremost to undertake any difficult or 
 dangerous exploit. When a mere lad, some of his 
 neighbors had built a flat-boat on the bank of a 
 little stream, intending to float it down to the Mis- 
 sissippi when the spring floods came. It happened, 
 however, that the water rose unusually high, and 
 the owners of the flat-boat were afraid to pilot it 
 through the eddies and the fallen timber. In this 
 
 o 
 
 emergency young Logan volunteered to take com- 
 mand, and, with his usual resolution and fixed pur- 
 pose, he piloted the flat-boat through all the 
 dangers of the river navigation into the broad 
 Mississippi. 
 
 When war with Mexico was declared, young 
 Logan, with that decision and spirit which had al- 
 ways characterized him, volunteered. He enlisted 
 as a private and was chosen second lieutenant in 
 Captain James Hampton's company of the first 
 Illinois regiment which enlisted for the war, and 
 which was commanded by Colonel Edward B. 
 Newby. 
 
 The regiment was ordered to New Mexico, and 
 as there were no railroads in those days in that 
 region, the march there was long and fatiguing. 
 But after having crossed the uninhabited and un- 
 inhabitable desert, the column reached a more 
 interesting region. The magnificent mountain 
 scenery, the fertile valleys, the healing springs, the 
 descendants of the Spanish conquerors in their pic- 
 turesque costumes, the docile peons, and the wild
 
 THE BOY THE STUDENT THE SOLDIER. 5 4 1 
 
 Apache Indians, all made a powerful impression 
 upon young Logan. But his military duties left 
 him little time for observation. He had been de- 
 tailed as quartermaster of his regiment, and it 
 was no easy task to procure the necessary sup- 
 plies, and on issuing them to secure the proper 
 vouchers and receipts. But when the war was 
 over, and the regiment returned home by the way 
 of Fort Leavenworth, Quartermaster Logan's ac- 
 counts were all found to be in perfect order. Sub- 
 sequently they passed the careful scrutiny of the 
 auditing officials at the Treasury Department, 
 where they are now on file, balanced to a cent.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE STUDENT THE LAWYER THE LEGISLATOR. 
 
 RETURNING home in October, 1848, young 
 Logan commenced the study of law in 
 the office of his uncle, Alexander M. Jen- 
 kins, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of Illinois. 
 Robust and weather-bronzed, the young veteran 
 of New Mexico was the hero of his neighbor- 
 hood, and he soon took the lead among the young 
 men in their sports, while he entertained them 
 with his reminiscences of army life and with 
 many good stories which he had heard at the 
 camp fires. His manner was dramatic, his com- 
 mand of his features was wonderful, and his voice 
 was exquisitely modulated. 
 
 Soon after young Logan's return home, several 
 valuable horses were stolen from the neighbor- 
 hood by a member of an organized band of 
 thieves who had come over from Missouri, where 
 his comrades had hiding-places almost inaccessi- 
 ble in the swamps. As these marauders were 
 desperate characters and always went armed, 
 there was some hesitation about following the 
 thief, but young Logan, taking two young men 
 with him, started in pursuit. The second day
 
 THE STUDENTLAWYERLEGISLATOR. CA-> 
 
 afterward the pursuers returned, bringing the 
 horses which had been stolen, but no one ever 
 knew what had become of the thief. 
 
 In November, 1849, ^ e was elected county 
 clerk of Jackson County, and held the office a 
 year, during which time, while discharging his 
 duties in the most creditable manner, he pursued 
 his legal studies. He also attended a course of 
 law lectures at the University of Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, which was then regarded as the foremost 
 institution of legal learning west of the Allegheny 
 Mountains. Applying himself with his wonted 
 industry and perseverance, he received his di- 
 ploma in 1851. Admitted to the practice of the law, 
 Mr. Logan entered into partnership with his uncle. 
 Governor Jenkins was a legal bookworm, and 
 would hunt up all the authorities bearing upon 
 their clients' cases, which his young partner would 
 use in the trial, examining the witnesses, and ad- 
 dressing the jury in his forcible and convincing 
 style of oratory. His practical mind, vigorous 
 intellect, popular manners, and rare abilities as a 
 public speaker won him a foremost place in pub- 
 lic esteem, and in 1852 he was elected Prosecut- 
 ing Attorney of the then Third Judicial Circuit of 
 Illinois. 
 
 In 1852, Mr. Logan removed to the town of 
 Benton, where he continued his law practice, and 
 very largely increased his circle of personal and 
 political friends. At the fall election of 1851, he
 
 544 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 was elected to represent Jackson and Bentort 
 Counties in the Illinois State Legislature. He 
 entered at once upon a successful legislative 
 career, and was recognized as a young man of 
 unusual pro'mise, alike formidable as a foe and 
 valuable as a friend. Candid in his presentation 
 of facts, logical in his mode of reasoning, and 
 skillful in arousing emotion, he had few superiors 
 as a popular speaker. Shaking off the trammels 
 of routine, he was progressive and aggressive in 
 opposing monopolies and in widening the paths 
 of industry. Politically, he was an uncompromis- 
 ing Democrat, always voting with his party. 
 
 He was married on the 2;th of November, 
 1855, at Shawneetown, to Miss MaryS. Cunning- 
 ham, daughter of John W. Cunningham, formerly 
 Register of the United States Land Office at that 
 place. She is the great-granddaughter of Rob- 
 ert Cunningham, an Irish immigrant to Virginia, 
 who fought for his adopted country in the Revo- 
 lutionary War, after which he removed to Tennes- 
 see, thence to Alabama, and thence to Illinois, at 
 that time a territory, where he emancipated several 
 slaves which he had previously acquired. Her 
 father, Captain John M. Cunningham, served in 
 the Black Hawk Indian War, and also in the war 
 with Mexico, and was a member of the Legislature 
 of Illinois in 1845 an d 1846. Her mother was 
 Miss Elizabeth Fontaine, one of a family of French 
 immigrants to Louisiana when under the rule of
 
 THE STUDENT LAWYER LEGISLATOR. 
 
 France, but which had afterward ascended the 
 Mississippi and located in Missouri, settling at 
 Petersburg in Boone County. There she was 
 married to John M. Cunningham, and their oldest 
 child, Mary Simmerson, was born on the I5th of 
 August, 1838. When she was but a year old, her 
 parents crossed the Mississippi and settled at 
 Marion, in Williamson County, Illinois, where she 
 was reared amid the hardships and dangers of 
 frontier life. When Captain Cunningham went to 
 meet the hostile Indians in the northern part of 
 his own State, and later to fight the battles of his 
 country in the land of the Montezumas, his brave 
 and dutiful little daughter relieved her mother all 
 in her power in household duties, and stood by 
 her nobly when the father again left home to seek 
 a fortune in the golden streams of California. On 
 his return he found that his daughter, though aid- 
 ing her mother so largely, had acquired the rudi- 
 ments of a good education, and he sent her to the 
 Convent of St. Vincent, near Morganfield, Ken- 
 tucky, which was the best and almost the only 
 educational institution for young ladies in that 
 region. Having been reared in the Baptist Church, 
 she did not fancy the religious services of the Sis- 
 ters, but nevertheless, she became a great favorite 
 with them. 
 
 Graduating in 1855, Miss Cunningham returned 
 to her father's home at Shawneetown, where, in 
 her younger days, she had aided her father in pre-
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 paring his papers as Sheriff of the county, Clerk of 
 the Courts, and Register of the Land Office. Blank 
 forms for legal documents were almost unknown 
 in those days, and the daughter used to write the 
 papers required by her father in his official duties. 
 John Logan was at that time Prosecuting Attorney 
 of the district, and he naturally became well 
 acquainted with Captain Cunningham and his 
 daughter. When she returned from the convent 
 he wooed and won her, and the young couple com- 
 menced their married life at Benton, Illinois. Since 
 then she has been his devoted helpmeet. She is a 
 brilliant and thoroughly educated woman, with 
 great simplicity of manner, earnestness of convic- 
 tion, and remarkable magnetic power. She has 
 always entered heartily into every project of her 
 husband, and, as became a devoted wife, has re- 
 joiced in his success at the bar, in the army, and 
 in political life. Though naturally of a retiring 
 disposition, she possesses great spirit and determi- 
 nation, which has shone resplendent in many times 
 of trial and emergency. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Logan was chosen Presidential 
 elector on the Democratic ticket, for the Ninth 
 Congressional District of Illinois, and cast his vote 
 in favor of James Buchanan for President, and 
 John C. Breckinridge for Vice-President. He was 
 re-elected to the State Legislature in the fall of 
 that year, and again in 1857.
 
 MRS. SENATOR JOHN A. LOGAN.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS WASHINGTON. 
 
 IN the fall of 1858, when the famous contest 
 between Lincoln and Douglas politically con- 
 vulsed the State, Mr. Logan was elected a 
 Representative in Congress from the Ninth Con- 
 gressional District of Illinois. A large number of 
 the old-line Whigs voted for him, and he received 
 15,878 votes against 2,796 votes for D. L. Phil- 
 lips, the Republican candidate, and 144 votes 
 scattering. Mrs. Logan, who had taken a deep 
 interest in his campaign, accompanied her hus- 
 band to Washington, where they lived in the 
 modest way from which they have never departed. 
 In the long contest for Speaker, at the commence- 
 ment of the session, he came prominently to the 
 front as the defender of Stephen A. Douglas 
 against personal attacks, and when questioned 
 concerning his political views, he said : " I will 
 answer the gentleman's question. I am now 
 about twenty-eight years of age. I was born a 
 Democrat ; and all my life I have learned to be- 
 lieve that the Democratic party, in national con- 
 vention, never does wrong. I have buried past 
 issues. I have done with them. Ignoring them, 
 
 549
 
 550 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 I say that I am a Democrat without a prefix to 
 my name. I am for Stephen A. Douglas for the 
 next President of the United States first, last, 
 and all the time. If he is not nominated, I am 
 for the next man that is, sir, the man who is 
 nominated." He was in favor of supporting the 
 Constitution and of carrying put its guarantees, 
 "as," to use his own words " every man will do 
 who is a patriot, a good citizen, a law-abiding and 
 a Constitution-lovinor man." 
 
 o 
 
 Mr. Pennington (who had been substituted by 
 the Republicans for Mr. John Sherman) was 
 elected Speaker on the forty-fourth ballot, and 
 after two months of earnest struggle. Mr. Logan 
 voted for the Democratic candidate, except on 
 the thirty-ninth ballot, when he voted for Mr. 
 Smith, of North Carolina. In giving his reasons 
 for this vote, he said : " I do not make any 
 remarks for the purpose of justifying myself be- 
 fore my constituents, because I do not believe 
 they would call in question any vote that I may 
 give here in accordance with the will of the large 
 majority of the Democratic party of this House. 
 I represent upon this floor, perhaps, as large a 
 constituency as any man here. I came here with 
 a Democratic majority of about fourteen thou- 
 sand votes over a Republican opposition. I have 
 never in my life given any other than a Demo- 
 cratic vote. In the district I have the honor to 
 represent there is an element now assisting the
 
 REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. * ~ l 
 
 Democratic party in sustaining the Union and the 
 Constitution I allude to the old-line Whigs." 
 
 Mr. Logan was appointed Chairman of the 
 Committee on " Revised and Unfinished Busi- 
 ness," which was the only committee entirely com- 
 posed of Democrats. He soon displayed his 
 executive ability and industrious habits. He was 
 always present at the sessions of the House, and 
 the business of his constituents at the Depart- 
 ment was always promptly attended to, thus in- 
 creasing his hold upon their esteem. Old party 
 lines were being broken up, but Mr. Logan ad- 
 hered with unbroken tenacity to the doctrines of 
 Jefferson and Jackson, as then interpreted by the 
 Democratic party. When a bill was reported 
 from the Committee on the Judiciary to punish 
 and prevent the practice of polygamy in Utah, 
 Mr. Logan offered as a substitute a bill repealing 
 the act creating that Territory and establishing 
 in its stead the Territories of Jeffersonia and 
 Nevada. Many thought then and think now that 
 this would have broken up effectually the sway of 
 polygamy. 
 
 Amid the greatest political excitement, Mr. 
 Logan was ever attentive to the wants of his con- 
 stituents. He secured the passage of a bill for 
 the holding of Circuit and District Courts of the 
 United States for the Southern District of Illinois, 
 in the city of Cairo, thus avoiding the necessity 
 for jurors, lawyers, litigants, and witnesses there-
 
 552 
 
 <// -A l-.RAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 abouts to journey some two hundred miles to 
 Springfield. He also sought a confirmation to the 
 titles of some eighteen hundred acres of saline 
 lands which individuals had purchased of the State 
 in good faith, but the record of the sale of which 
 had been destroyed, and he urged the passage of 
 other acts calculated to benefit the State of 
 Illinois. 
 
 When evening sessions were asked for he said 
 that if they were simply for the purpose of allow- 
 ing gentlemen to read written speeches, he had 
 no objections, but he desired to take the floor 
 when the report of the Peace Committee was dis- 
 cussed. He had no written speech he never 
 wrote one he did not want to speak at night to 
 empty benches and he hoped the House would 
 not force him to. When he obtained the floor he 
 spoke earnestly for an hour on the state of the 
 Union, as seen from his Democratic standpoint, 
 and deprecated war, discussing the best way in 
 which to "restore tranquillity and to bring the 
 American people once more together in the bonds 
 of amity and peace." He wanted to have the 
 people of the South, who had been dragged into 
 the whirlpool of disunion by reckless and ambi- 
 tious men, return on bended knees, exclaiming: 
 "I come once more to the parental roof for pro- 
 tection," and he said: "I have been taught to be- 
 lieve that the preservation of this glorious Union, 
 with its broad flag waving over us as the shield for
 
 REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. c c -> 
 
 55o 
 
 our protection on land and on sea, is paramount 
 to all the parties and platforms that ever have 
 existed or ever can exist. I would to-day, if I had 
 the power, sink my own party and every other 
 one, with all their platforms, into the vortex of 
 ruin, without heaving a sigh or shedding a tear, 
 to save the Union or even stop the revolution 
 where it is." In conclusion, Mr. Logan said: "Sir, 
 what shall I say to my gallant constituents when 
 I return to them? Shall I bear the ill tidings that 
 nothing has been done in Congress to give them 
 a ray of hope for the future of our country ? Must 
 I tell those gallant Tennesseeans, Kentuckians, 
 and men from different Southern States, that ere 
 long, if they should desire to visit the soil of their 
 nativity, they must be prepared to visit a foreign 
 and perhaps a hostile government ? Shall I say to 
 the sons of gallant old Virginia, the mother of our 
 own State, that it is highly probable that very 
 soon, if they want to visit the soil where their 
 fathers and mothers, the man who wrote the Dec- 
 laration of Independence, the one who drafted the 
 Constitution, and the one who, with our poor 
 and half-starved armies, drove the British from 
 our land, signed the Constitution, and was our 
 first President, all lie buried that they will at 
 some future day have the opportunity, with a pass- 
 port in their pockets, or, in certain events, they 
 can do so with a torch in one hand and a sword 
 in the other ? No, no ! Let me not bear this sad
 
 ec, GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 intelligence. In the name of the patriotic sires 
 who breasted the storms and vicissitudes of the 
 Revolution; by all the kindred ties of this country ; 
 in the name of the many battles fought for our 
 freedom ; in behalf of the young and the old ; in 
 behalf of the arts and sciences, civilization, peace, 
 order, Christianity, and humanity, I appeal to you 
 to strike from your limbs the chains that bind 
 them ; come forth from that loathsome prison, 
 (party caucus) and in tliis hour, the most gloomy 
 and disheartening to the lovers of free institutions 
 that has ever existed during our country's history, 
 arouse the drooping spirits of our countrymen by 
 putting forth your good strong arms to assist in 
 steadying the rocking pillars of the mightiest Re- 
 public that has ever had an existence."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 STORMY SCENES IN CONGRESS HOSTILITIES COM- 
 MENCED. 
 
 IN 1860, Mr. Logan's constituents were so well 
 pleased with their Representative that they re- 
 elected him to the Thirty-seventh Congress, 
 giving him 21,381 votes against 5,439 for Linegar, 
 Republican. In that political campaign he con- 
 tinued to give his ardent support to Stephen A. 
 Douglas. That winter, the Legislature having re- 
 districted the State, he removed his residence to 
 Marion, Williamson County, in order that he 
 might still remain in his proper Congressional lo- 
 cality. Before leaving his old home he expressed 
 his regret that Mr. Douglas had not been made 
 President rather than Mr. Lincoln, but he declared 
 that the latter having been elected, he " would 
 shoulder his musket to have him inaugurated if 
 any armed demonstration should be made." 
 
 On reaching Washington to be present at the 
 opening of the last session of the Thirty-sixth 
 Congress, in December, 1860, Mr. Logan saw 
 many of the Southern Senators and Representa- 
 tives secede from the Congress of the United 
 States, while a few others, truculent and defiant, 
 
 555
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 remained to place every obstacle in the way of 
 coercion by the Federal Government. Mr. Logan 
 repeatedly arraigned them for their ill-concealed 
 disloyalty, and asked them how they reconciled 
 their hostility to the Government with the oaths 
 which they had taken to support the Constitution. 
 Attending the special session of the Thirty- 
 seventh Congress, called by Mr. Lincoln, which 
 met on the Fourth of July, 1861, Mr. Logan saw 
 the war-clouds gathering in every direction. The 
 National Metropolis resounded with the beating 
 of drums and the clang of arms as patriotic men 
 came hastening from all sections of the loyal 
 North to its defense, while the Confederates, hav- 
 ing seized many forts and arsenals of the United 
 States, were concentrating a large armed force on 
 the south bank of the Potomac. The Republi- 
 cans, of course, sustained the Administration, and 
 the Democrats, rising above party trammels, in- 
 dorsed the declaration of President Lincoln that 
 there were "wrongs to be redressed, already long 
 enough endured." Those who had been the dis- 
 
 o 
 
 ciples of that great General who had declared 
 that " the Federal Union must and shall be pre- 
 served," did not choose to endure those wrongs 
 any longer. Mr. Logan, alive to the gravity and 
 the dangers of the situation, turned from the 
 Democratic party toward the Republicans as the 
 defenders and preservers of the Union, and when 
 he turned, it was without a qualification.
 
 STORMY SCENES IN CONGRESS. 
 
 Before the close of the session, Mr. Adrian, of 
 New Jersey, offered the following resolution in 
 the House of Representatives: "Resolved, That 
 we fully approve of the bold and patriotic act of 
 Major Anderson in withdrawing from Fort Moul- 
 trie to Fort Sumter, and of the determination of 
 the President to maintain that fearless officer in 
 his present position; and that we will support the 
 President in all constitutional measures to enforce 
 the laws and preserve the Union." Upon the 
 passage of this resolution Mr. Logan voted "aye," 
 and added that "it received his unqualified sup- 
 port." Years afterward, when slanderers had 
 undertaken to cast doubts upon his loyalty at this 
 critical period, Senators L. Q. C. Lamar and Pugh 
 bore unsolicited testimony to his loyalty of deed, 
 thought, and purpose. 
 
 "On to Richmond!" now became the popular 
 cry, and on the i6th of July the Union army 
 crossed the Potomac. On the i8th, General 
 McDowell sent forward three columns to make 
 reconnoisances of the enemy's entrenched position 
 on the south bank of Bull Run. One of these 
 columns, commanded by Brigadier-General Tyler, 
 after encountering obstructions, reached Bull Run, 
 at Blackburn's Ford, and found a Confederate 
 battery on the opposite bank. After some ex- 
 changes of shots by the artillery, Colonel Rich- 
 ardson, who commanded a brigade, was ordered 
 forward to reconnoitre, and he threw out a
 
 c e g GENERAL J OlfN A. L OGAM 
 
 regiment as skirmishers into the thick woods 
 which bordered the creek. The Confederates 
 opened a raking fire of artillery and musketry 
 upon them, and a lively fusilade ensued, which 
 resulted in the retreat of the skirmishing regi- 
 ment. Colonel Richardson reported this to Gen- 
 eral Tyler, and proposed to make a charge with 
 the remaining three regiments of the brigade for 
 
 ^j ^? <j 
 
 the purpose of carrying the enemy's position. 
 General Tyler sent back word that the Confed- 
 erates were in large force and strongly fortified, 
 and that a further attack was unnecessary. It 
 was, he said, merely a reconnoissance, and the 
 strength of the enemy having been ascertained, 
 Colonel Richardson would fall back with his com- 
 mand, an order which was reluctantly complied 
 with. 
 
 General Anson G. McCook, who was in the 
 supporting brigade commanded by General 
 Schenck, as a captain of the Second Ohio Volun- 
 teers, narrates an episode which occurred just as 
 Colonel Richardson's skirmish line was recalled. 
 He saw, slowly coming back from the front, two 
 civilians, who attracted his attention. One he re- 
 cognized as his uncle, Daniel McCook, of Illinois, 
 and the other, who wore a high silk hat and 
 carried a musket on his shoulder, had gleaming 
 black eyes and a heavy moustache. His hands 
 and clothes were covered with blood, for he had 
 been helping to carry wounded men out of range,
 
 HOSTILITIES COMMENCED. tfa 
 
 and he was using decidedly energetic language 
 in condemnation of the recall of the troops. It 
 was Mr. Logan, who had gone out on the ad- 
 vanced picket line with Colonel Richardson, and 
 who was emphatic in his assertions that the re- 
 served regiments should have been ordered for- 
 ward into the fight. 
 
 Two days afterward, General McDowell, hav- 
 ing found that the enemy's works commanding 
 the fords could not be carried by assault without 
 a great loss, concentrated his forces at Centre- 
 ville, and advanced by the flank around the fords 
 to attack the Confederates at Manassas. The 
 advancing columns of Union soldiers, with glisten- 
 ing bayonets, gay flags, and bands performing 
 patriotic airs, moved through the primeval forests 
 of the Old Dominion. They were accompanied by 
 a crowd of spectators, who had driven out from 
 Washington to witness the fight, as they would 
 have gone to witness a horse-race or a game at 
 base-ball. The Union officers, smarting under 
 the insinuations of politicians that they dared not 
 fight, gallantly led their undisciplined commands 
 into the range of the enemy's guns, where they 
 fought like veterans. At first it was thought that 
 victory had perched on the Union flags, but the 
 decimated Confederate regiments received fresh 
 courage from the arrival of reinforcements, and 
 the tide of battle was turned in their favor. A 
 retreat was ordered, which soon become a dis-
 
 562 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN 
 
 graceful rout, and it was impossible to control 
 men who had lost all presence of mind and only 
 longed for absence of body. 
 
 The Confederates were in no condition to fol- 
 low up the victory which they had gained and to 
 press on to Washington, and the defeat secured 
 the support of every loyal man in the Northern 
 States for the Union cause whatever his previous 
 political convictions might have been. Practical 
 issues were presented, and there was no time for 
 hesitation or indecision. 
 
 Thenceforth -Mr. Logan was animated by the 
 sentiment uttered by his deceased political leader, 
 Stephen A. Douglas, in his last public speech : 
 "The conspiracy is now known, armies have been 
 raised, war is levied to accomplish it. There are 
 only two sides to the question. Every man must 
 be for the United States or against it. There 
 can be no neutrals in this war ; only Republicans 
 or traitors." Believing this, Mr. Logan wrote to 
 his relatives and friends in Illinois, telling them 
 that there were but two sides to the question, and 
 that he intended to take up arms for the Union.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COLONEL BELMONT FORT HENRY FORT 
 DONELSON. 
 
 CONGRESS adjourned on the 6th day of 
 August, and Mr. Logan, hastening to Illi- 
 nois, obtained the recruiting papers for the 
 Thirty-first Regiment of Volunteers, which he 
 proceeded to raise in the immediate neighborhood 
 of his home, having first enlisted as a private him- 
 self. Attempts had been made there to induce 
 the young men to enter the Confederate ser- 
 vice, and a few of them had crossed the Ohio 
 and enlisted in the Thirteenth Tennessee Con- 
 federate Regiment. Mr. Logan's appearance 
 turned the scale. On the 3d of September he 
 addressed a public meeting at Marion, announcing 
 his intention to enter the Union service as a private, 
 or in any capacity in which he could serve his coun- 
 try best in defending the old blood-stained flag over 
 every foot of soil in the United States. His elo- 
 quence and high personal reputation rallied friends 
 and neighbors around him, and on the I3th of 
 November, 1861, the Thirty-first Regiment of 
 Illinois Volunteers was organized, and he was 
 chosen and commissioned as its colonel. 
 
 563
 
 564 GENERAL yO/M A. LOG AM 
 
 The newly organized regiment was ordered to 
 report at the rendezvous at Cairo, which had been 
 placed under the command of Brigadier-General 
 Grant, who had gone there as the colonel of the 
 Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois, and had been 
 promoted. The first brigade which he organized 
 was composed of the Twenty-seventh, Twenty- 
 ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first Regiments, which 
 he placed under the command of General Mc- 
 Clernand, who, like Colonel Logan, had been 
 identified with the Democratic party. Mrs. Logan 
 accompanied her husband. 
 
 On the night of November 6th, McClernand's 
 brigade left Cairo, on a steamer, as part of an 
 expedition which General Grant commanded, to 
 assault the Confederates' works at Belmont, on 
 the Mississippi River. Few of the officers or men 
 had ever before seen a battle, the regiments were 
 imperfectly disciplined and drilled, and the mus- 
 kets were of an inferior character. Yet the expe- 
 dition started boldly out, and passing the intrench- 
 ments at Belmont, landed above them on the 7th, 
 and moved through dense woods to their rear. 
 The ground was hotly contested, but after two 
 miles of continuous fighting, the Confederates 
 were forced to seek shelter in their camp. General 
 Grant's forces drove them from that position, 
 destroyed the camp, and returning to their boats, 
 brought away two hundred prisoners, two field 
 pieces, and a large quantity of munitions of war.
 
 B ELMO NT FOR T HENR K r 5 r 
 
 Colonel Logan distinguished himself in the action 
 by ordering his flag to the front, and leading his 
 regiment with unbroken ranks, followed by the 
 whole force. He had his horse shot from under 
 him, and a ball shattered the revolver which he 
 carried at his side, yet he escaped unhurt. Mrs. 
 Logan, who was 'in the camp at Cairo, heard the 
 roar of artillery at Belmont, and while anxious for 
 her husband, gave her personal attention to the 
 wounded as they were brought back, ministering 
 to their wants with assiduous care. 
 
 In February, 1862, Brigadier-General Grant 
 again left Cairo at the head of a considerable force 
 for hostile demonstrations on the Tennessee River, 
 in concert with a fleet of gunboats commanded by 
 Flag-officer Foote. Fort Henry was captured on 
 the 6th of February, Colonel Logan taking part 
 in the investment by land, and capturing eight of 
 the enemy's guns. He made several reconnois- 
 sances around Fort Donelson before the arrival 
 of the Union troops there, and took an active part 
 in the three days siege, in command of his regi- 
 ment. 
 
 When the enemy made a vigorous attack on 
 the Fifteenth, upon the right wing, to which the 
 Thirty-first Regiment belonged, the ammunition 
 of the men became nearly exhausted, and while 
 Colonel Logan and Lieutenant-Colonel White 
 w r ere rallying them the latter fell, mortally 
 wounded. Colonel Logan, at the same time, re-
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 ceived a musket-ball, which entered the fore part 
 of his left arm, passed around it, and out through 
 the shoulder. He was also struck in the hip by 
 two spent balls ; but he never flinched, and his in- 
 trepidity kept his men in position until reinforce- 
 ments arrived. He was then forced to go to the 
 rear and have his wounds dressed, his men being 
 fearful of the results, as loss of blood had nearly 
 exhausted him. The battle lasted until dark, and 
 the next morning General Buckner, the Confed- 
 erate commander, sent in a flag of truce proposing 
 an armistice and the appointment of commission- 
 ers to settle terms of capitulation. General Grant's 
 reply was characteristic : " No terms other than 
 unconditional and immediate surrender can be 
 accepted," and he added : " I propose to move 
 immediately on your works." The " Stars and 
 Bars" which had floated over Fort Donelson 
 were at once lowered, and the "Stars and Stripes " 
 floated proudly in their place. 
 
 It was this engagement, in which the First Illi- 
 nois Brigade held its ground for three long hours, 
 during which time nearly one-third were either 
 killed or wounded, that a Massachusetts poet 
 described, saying : 
 
 " Thy proudest mother's eyelids fill, 
 
 As dares her gallant boy, 
 And Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill 
 Yearn to thee Illinois." 
 
 Colonel Logan was taken with his regiment
 
 INTERIOR OF FORT HENRY. 
 
 WATER BATTERY AT FORT DONELSON.
 
 FORT DONELSON. 
 
 back to Cairo, prostrated by his wounds and by 
 malarial fever contracted by exposure, and for 
 three weeks he lay at death's door. Yet he re- 
 fused to be taken from his decimated and suf- 
 fering regiment, and insisted on remaining with 
 his " boys " until they had somewhat recuperated. 
 Mrs. Logan, who had gone to her father's house 
 at Marion when her husband started on the Ten- 
 nessee River campaign, hastened back to Cairo 
 to minister to his wants. For several days he 
 was in a very critical condition, but she had the 
 satisfaction of seeing her devoted care rewarded 
 by his convalescence. 
 
 Colonel Logan's bravery at the battle of Fort 
 Donelson was honorably mentioned by his com- 
 manding officers, and General Grant recom- 
 mended him to the Secretary of War as deserving 
 advancement for meritorious services. He was 
 one of four colonels recommended for promotion, 
 General Grant saying: " He is from civil pursuits, 
 but I have no hesitation in fully indorsing him as 
 in every way qualified for the position of briga- 
 dier-general." President Lincoln so appointed 
 him, and the nomination was confirmed by the 
 Senate on the 5th day of March, 1862.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BRIGADIER-GENERAL CORINTH JACKSON THE 
 PATRIOT. 
 
 GENERAL LOGAN was offered "sick 
 leave," but he declined and reported to 
 General Grant (who had meanwhile been 
 promoted to the rank of major-general), and was, 
 on the 1 2th of April, 1862, placed in command of 
 the brigade in which he had served under Mc- 
 Clernand and Oglesby, excepting that the Twelfth 
 Michigan was substituted for his own regiment, 
 which had been placed under the command of his 
 quartermaster, Lindorf Ozburn. 
 
 For a few days General Logan was prevented 
 by ill health from assuming the command of his 
 brigade, but the closing scenes of the battle of 
 Corinth found him in the saddle in command of 
 the picket-line. Two nights before the Confed- 
 erates evacuated their works while his men were 
 laying on their arms ready to meet an attack should 
 one be made, he became impressed with the idea 
 that a retreat had been commenced and wanted to 
 advance, but was refused authority to do so. The 
 next afternoon the enemy made a desperate sortie 
 in force on the picket-line. " In this attack," said 
 570
 
 BRIGADIER- GENERAL CORINTH JA CKSON. r y j 
 
 General Logan in his official report, "the men 
 again exhibited that true Western courage which 
 has characterized them in so many engagements, 
 and maintained their position like veteran soldiers. 
 After receiving thefireof the enemytheyreturnedit 
 with great vigor, and immediately advanced, under 
 command of Captains Lieb and Cowen, of the Eighth 
 and Forty-fifth Regiments respectively, and fought 
 the enemy, of three times their number, alone. 
 On the next morning I received official notice of 
 the evacuation of Corinth, and that the American 
 flag, as it waved over the rebel fortifications, was 
 greeted by the thundering shouts of our soldiery." 
 General Sherman, in his official report, acknowl- 
 edged his special obligations to General Logan, 
 who "held the critical ground on the right, extend- 
 ing down to the railroad. All the time he had in 
 his front a large force of the enemy, but so dense 
 was the foliage that he could not reckon their 
 strength, save what he could see on the railroad 
 track." 
 
 General Logan was ordered, after the capitula- 
 tion of Corinth, to command a division sent to oc- 
 cupy and rebuild the railroad leading to Jackson, 
 Tennessee, which was an important depot of sup- 
 plies. Advancing with all possible rapidity, a de- 
 tachment from his division seized Jackson on the 
 yth of June, 1862, while the Confederates were 
 taking dinner, and put them to flight, capturing a 
 number of animals and a quantity of commissary
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 and quartermaster's stores. General Logan was 
 placed in command at Jackson, which was an im- 
 portant position, requiring great administrative 
 abilities. From there, under date of August 26th, 
 he addressed the following patriotic letter to the 
 Hon. O. M. Hatch, Secretary of State, which was 
 read at the Illinois Union Convention, in Septem- 
 ber, 1862 : 
 
 "I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your complimentary letter of the i8th inst, ask- 
 ing permission to use my name in connection with 
 that of the Fourteenth Representative in Con- 
 gress from the State of Illinois. 
 
 " In reply, I would most respectfully remind you 
 that a compliance with your request on my part 
 would be a departure from the settled resolutions 
 with which I resumed my sword in defense and 
 for the perpetuity of a Government the like and 
 blessings of which no other nation or age shall 
 enjoy if once suffered to be weakened or de- 
 stroyed. In making this reply, I feel that it is un- 
 necessary to enlarge as to what were, are, or may 
 hereafter be my political views, but would simply 
 state that politics of every grade and character 
 whatsoever are now ignored by me, since I am 
 convinced that the Constitution and life of this 
 Republic which I shall never cease to adore 
 are in danger. 
 
 " I express all my views and politics when I as- 
 sert my attachment for the Union. I have no
 
 BRIGADIER- GENERAL CORINTH JACKSON, r 7 -> 
 
 other politics now, and consequently no aspira- 
 tions for civil place and power. No ! I am to-day 
 a soldier of this Republic, so to remain, changeless 
 and immutable until her last and weakest enemy 
 shall have expired and passed away. Ambitious 
 men, who have not a true love for their country 
 at heart, may bring forth crude and bootless ques- 
 tions to agitate the pulse of our troubled nation 
 and thwart the preservation of this Union, but for 
 none of such am I. I have entered the field to 
 die if needs be for this Government, and never 
 expect to return to peaceful pursuits until the ob- 
 ject of this war has become a fact established. 
 
 " Whatever means it may be necessary to adopt, 
 whatever local interest it may affect or destroy, is 
 no longer an affair of mine. If any locality or 
 section suffers or is wronged in the prosecution 
 of the war, I am sorry for it, but I say it must not 
 be heeded now, for we are at war for the preser- 
 vation of the Union. Let the evil be rectified 
 when the present breach has been cemented for- 
 ever. If the South by her malignant treachery 
 has imperiled all that made her great and wealthy, 
 and it was to be lost, I would not stretch forth my 
 hand to save her from destruction, if she will not 
 be saved by a restoration of the Union. Since 
 the die of her wretchedness has been cast by her 
 own hands, let the coin of her misery circulate 
 alone in her own dominions, until the peace of 
 Union ameliorates her forlorn condition.
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 " By these few words you may readily discern 
 that my political aspirations are things of the past, 
 and I am not the character of man you seek. 
 No legislation in which I might be suffered to take 
 a feeble part, will in my .opinion suffice to amend 
 the injury already inflicted upon our country by 
 these remorseless traitors. Their policy for the 
 dissolution of the Government was initiated in 
 blood, and their seditious blood only can suffice 
 to make amends for the evil done. This Govern- 
 ment must be preserved for future generations in 
 the same mold in which it was transmitted to us 
 if it takes the last man and the last dollar of the 
 present generation within its borders to accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 " For the flattering manner in which you have 
 seen fit to allude to my past services I return you 
 my sincere thanks, but if it has been my fortune 
 to bleed and suffer for my dear country, it is all 
 but too little compared to what I am willing again 
 and again to endure ; and should fate so ordain 
 it, I will esteem it as the highest privilege a just 
 Dispenser can award to shed the last drop of 
 blood in my veins for the honor of that flag whose 
 emblems are justice, liberty, and truth, and which 
 has been, and as I humbly trust in God ever will 
 be, for the right. 
 
 "In conclusion, let me request that your desire 
 to associate my name with the high and honorable 
 position you would confer upon me be at once
 
 BRIGADIER- GENERAL CORINTH JA CKSON. 1 7 e 
 
 dismissed, and some more suitable and worthy 
 person substituted. Meanwhile I shall continue 
 to look with unfeigned pride and admiration on 
 the continuance of the present able conduct of 
 our State affairs, and feel that I am sufficiently 
 honored while acknowledged as an humble sol- 
 dier of our own peerless State."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL VICKSBURG THE ORATOR. 
 
 DURING Grant's Northern Mississippi 
 Campaign of 1862 and 1863, Logan led 
 his division, exhibiting great skill in the 
 handling of troops, and was honored with promo- 
 tion as major-general of volunteers, dating from 
 November 29th, 1862. He was afterward as- 
 signed to the command of the Third Division, 
 Seventeenth Army Corps, under General McPher- 
 son, and bore a distinguished part in the series of 
 battles which followed each other in rapid succes- 
 sion prior to the final investment of Vicksburg. 
 At the battle of Raymond, on the 1 2th of May, 
 there was a desperate conflict, in which the Illi- 
 nois troops fought valiantly and lost heavily, but 
 the Confederates were finally forced, at the point 
 of the bayonet, to retreat. " General Logan," says 
 the Rev. Dr. Eddy, in his Military History of Illi- 
 nois, " to whose division belongs the honor of the 
 victory, was full of zeal and wild with enthusiasm. 
 Fearless as a lion, he was in every part of the field, 
 and seemed to infuse every man of his command 
 with a part of his own indomitable energy and 
 fiery valor." 
 576
 
 'MAJOR-GENERAL VICKSBURG THE ORATOR. 
 
 Equally glorious and decisive was the battle of 
 Jackson on the following morning, when, after an 
 artillery duel of half an hour, without any marked 
 results, the infantry was ordered into action. A 
 mile of open space lay between the Union army 
 and the Confederates, every foot of which was 
 swept by the fire of artillery. But the Illinois 
 troops steadily advanced in spite of the fearful 
 storm of shot and shell which swept through their 
 ranks. They halted for a few moments under 
 cover of a hill-side. Their officers briefly ad- 
 dressed them, and then gave the word "Forward !" 
 Onward the column flew on the double quick, 
 their cheers ringing high above the din of musk- 
 etry. They had hardly struck the rebel front 
 before it was shivered. A long, loud cheer of 
 victory swelled on the air as the foe fled, panic- 
 stricken, from the field, and yielded the city of 
 Jackson as the prize of battle. During the fight, 
 an officer was sent to General Logan to. inquire 
 how the contest was going in his front. Logan 
 sent back word : " Tell General Grant that my 
 division cannot be whipped by all the rebels this 
 side of hell. We are going ahead, and won't stop 
 till we get orders." 
 
 On the 1 6th, at the battle of Champion Hills, 
 General Logan's splendid division, as usual, im- 
 mortalized itself. At the commencement of the 
 battle he marched past the brow of the hill, and 
 forming in line of battle on the right of Hovey,
 
 578 GENERAL JOHN A, LOGAN. 
 
 advanced in magnificent style, sweeping every- 
 thing before him. At the edge of the woods in 
 front of Logan the battle was of the most des- 
 perate character, but not a man flinched or a line 
 wavered in his division. They bore themselves 
 like veterans, and moved on as if conscious of 
 their invincibility and the certainty of victory. 
 General Logan captured eleven guns and thirteen 
 hundred prisoners. The correspondent of the 
 Cincinnati Commercial, in his published account 
 of this engagement said : " General Logan was, 
 as usual, full of zeal, and intoxicated with enthu- 
 siasm. His horse was shot twice. If you ever 
 hear that Logan has been defeated, make up your 
 mind that he and most of his men have been sac- 
 rificed. He has stricken the word ' retreat' from 
 his military lexicon. Fighting his way forward, 
 the Union columns made the investment of Vicks- 
 burg secure, having displayed unflinching endur- 
 ance, cjaring bravery, and determined energy. 
 The siege operations were carried on with equal 
 gallantry, and on the Fourth of July, 1863, Vicks- 
 burg capitulated. The Confederates marched 
 out of the city, stacked their arms in front of the 
 Union line, and then marched back as prisoners 
 to be paroled. When this had been done, Gen- 
 eral McPherson and staff rode into the city and 
 took formal possession, displaying the ' Stars and 
 Stripes' from the cupola of the Court-House. At 
 high-noon the Union army marched into the city,
 
 BATTLE GROUND, NE\R JACKSON, MISS. 
 
 CAVE LIFE IN VICKSBURG DURING ITS SIEGE.
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL V1CKSBURG THE ORATOR, rg! 
 
 headed by General Grant. Next to him came 
 General Logan's division, which passed High 
 Hill Fort, where they had recently fought desper- 
 ately, after the explosion of a mine. The Gen- 
 eral rode at their head, 'worshiped by his men 
 -a. man of iron will and lion-like courage, who 
 seemed under the blasts of war to change into a 
 demi-god.' ' 
 
 General Logan was appointed Mi4itary Gover- 
 nor of Vicksburg, a fitting tribute to his wonder- 
 ful earnestness and gallantry during the siege. 
 Thirteen thousand prisoners were paroled, thou- 
 sands of men of both armies in hospitals had to 
 be cared for, and many of the citizens were abso- 
 lutely without food. There was also a large 
 quantity of surrendered arms and munitions of war 
 to be secured. General Logan proved himself to 
 be " the right man in the right place," bringing 
 order out of chaos, restraining disorder, and treat- 
 ing the conquered with impartial justice. 
 
 General Logan's valor was fitly recognized in 
 the presentation made to him, by the Board of 
 Honor of the Seventeenth Army Corps, of a gold 
 medal inscribed with the names of the nine battles 
 in which he had participated. Having thoroughly 
 inaugurated the administration of affairs at Vicks- 
 burg, he spent a part of the summer of 1863 in a 
 visit to the North, frequently addressing large 
 assemblages of his fellow-citizens in speeches of 
 fiery eloquence and burning zeal and devotion
 
 eg 2 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. ' 
 
 to the cause of the Union. As a specimen of 
 those speeches the following extract from one 
 delivered at Duquoin, Illinois, may be quoted : 
 
 " The Government is worth fighting for. It is 
 worth generations and centuries of war. It is 
 worth the lives of the best and noblest men in the 
 land. We will fight for this Government for the 
 sake of ourselves and our children. Our little 
 ones shall read in history of the men who stood 
 by the Government in its dark and gloomy hours, 
 and it shall be the proud boast of many that their 
 fathers died in this glorious struggle for American 
 liberty. I believe to-day I believe it honestly 
 that if the people of the North were united and 
 all stood upon one platform, as we do in the 
 army, this rebellion would be crushed in ninety 
 days. I want to show you the reason why more 
 troops ought to be raised. We can crush this 
 rebellion. I know it. Why, we have marched a 
 little army clear from Cairo to Vicksburg; below, 
 a small one has marched from New Orleans to 
 Port Hudson. We have opened the Mississippi 
 River. We have split the Confederacy in two, 
 leaving on one side Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, 
 and Missouri more territory than is on the east- 
 ern side. We have made a gulf that is impassa- 
 ble for them. We can hurl our strength upon 
 one half and whip it, then upon the other and whip 
 that."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CORPS COMMANDER KENESAW -PEACH TREE 
 CREEK. 
 
 ON the 1 3th day of November, 1863, Gen- 
 eral Logan was promoted to the command 
 of the Fifteenth Army Corps as the suc- 
 cessor of General Sherman. In surrendering 
 command of his division he reminded the officers 
 and soldiers of the different brigades of the his- 
 
 o 
 
 tory the division " had made for itself a history 
 to be proud of; a history never to be forgotten; 
 for it is written as with a pen of fire dipped in 
 ink of blood on the memories and in the hearts 
 of all." He besought them always to prove 
 themselves as loyal in principle, as valiant in arms, 
 as their record while under his command would 
 show them to have been ; " to remember the 
 glorious cause you are fighting for, remember the 
 bleaching bones of your comrades, killed on the 
 bloody fields of Donelson, Corinth, Champion 
 Hill, and Vicksburg, or perished by disease dur- 
 ing the past two years of hardships and exposure 
 and swear by these imperishable memories 
 never, while life remains, to prove recreant to the 
 trust high Heaven has confided to your charge." 
 
 583
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 He assured them of his continued sympathy and 
 interest in their well-being, no matter how great a 
 distance might separate them, and closed by 
 heartily recommending them to their future com- 
 mander, his own companion-in-arms and succes- 
 sor, Brigadier-General Leggett. 
 
 The Fifteenth Corps, after General Logan was 
 promoted to its command, was stationed during 
 the winter in the vicinity of Huntsville, Alabama. 
 In the spring the Fifteenth Corps, with the Six- 
 teenth Corps, Major-General G. M. Dodge, and 
 the Seventeenth Corps, Major-General Frank P. 
 Blair, which formed the " Army of the Tennes- 
 see," commanded by. Major-General McPherson, 
 joined the " Army of the Cumberland," com- 
 manded by Major-General Thomas, and the 
 " Army of the Ohio," commanded by Major-Gen- 
 eral Schofield. These three armies, with an ag- 
 gregate strength of 98,739 men and 254 guns, 
 formed the " Grand Military Division of the Mis- 
 sissippi," commanded by General Sherman " one 
 of the grandest armies ever led by gallant chief- 
 lain." The whole force was consolidated at Ring- 
 gold early in May, and started southward on its 
 march into Georgia. 
 
 o 
 
 General Logan, at the head of the Fourteenth 
 Army Corps, was in the van, as General Sher- 
 man fought his way over difficult ground. Gen- 
 eral H. V. Boynton, who served gallantly in the 
 Army of the Cumberland, says of him: " As the
 
 CORPS COMMANDER PEACH TREE CREEK. 
 
 united armies advanced along a battle line, where 
 for four months the firing never wholly ceased by 
 day or by night, everybody came to know Logan. 
 Brave, vigilant, and aggressive, he won universal 
 applause. Prudent for his men, and reckless in 
 exposing his own person, he excited general ad- 
 miration. When the lines were close his own 
 headquarters were often scarcely out of sight of 
 the pickets, and he generally had a hand in what- 
 ever deadly work might spring up along his front." 
 Leading the advance, General Logan had a 
 bloody conflict with Hardee's veteran Confederates 
 at Dallas, and after twelve days of successful skir- 
 mishing, halted before Kenesaw Mountain, on 
 which the Confederates were strongly entrenched. 
 General Sherman, finding that he was expected to 
 outflank this stronghold, determined, "for the moral 
 effect," to carry it by assault, as in his opinion "an 
 army to be efficient must not settle down to one 
 mode of offense, but must be prepared to exe- 
 cute any plan which promises success." General 
 Logan, who was with General McPherson at Gen- 
 eral Sherman's headquarters when this disastrous 
 assault was decided upon, and who was always 
 averse to the unnecessary exposure of his men, 
 protested. "At first," says General Boynton, "he 
 scarcely believed that the intention to make the 
 assault was earnest. When he discovered that it 
 was really contemplated, he emphasized his pro- 
 test, coupling it with the opinion that to send the
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 troops against that mountain would only result in 
 useless slaughter. Finding his opinion likely to 
 be disregarded, he went still further and declared 
 it to be a movement which, in his judgment, would 
 be nothing less than the murder of brave men. In 
 all of this he was warmly seconded by General 
 McPherson. They did not succeed in averting the 
 slaughter. But afterward, when officers of the 
 Army of the Cumberland heard that General 
 Thomas' protest in regard to the same matter had 
 been in similar terms to that of Logan, a stronger 
 liking than ever for Logan prevailed among those 
 officers of the Cumberland Army who knew the 
 facts. Thus he ever sought to protect his men 
 whenever he saw that they were likely to be need- 
 lessly exposed. 
 
 General Logan nevertheless obeyed orders. 
 Early on the morning of the 2 7th of June he formed 
 his corps in storming columns, led it againstthe first 
 line of rebel abattis through a terrific fire of mus- 
 ketry, and carried it. Then he advanced on the 
 second line, carrying that also, but beyond it the 
 mountain side was so steep, and the entrench- 
 ments were so strong, that, having lost many valu- 
 able lives, he was forced to fall back to the second 
 line, where they threw up defenses of logs, which 
 they held despite the stubbornest efforts of the 
 Confederates to dislodge them. 
 
 o 
 
 An eye-witness, describing General Logan as he 
 made an inspection of his lines, dwelt thus on his
 
 CORPS COMMANDER PEACH TREE CREEK, eg 7 
 
 remarkable courage and coolness under fire: "The 
 Confederate gunners, seeing him, turned against 
 him every battery on the mountain, which smoked 
 like a volcano in eruption, sending forth a hurri- 
 cane of missiles, some of which plowed up the 
 earth, while others, bursting, filled the air with flying 
 fragments. The General, riding into this mael- 
 strom of shot and shell, halted by the embers of a 
 nearly extinguished camp-fire, turned coolly around, 
 and asked his aid-de-camp for a cigar. Procuring 
 one, the General dismounted, and leisurely picked 
 up a brand, lit his cigar, and then remounted, puf- 
 fing away as nonchalantly as though he had been 
 in his Illinois home as he rode alonof, while shells 
 
 o * 
 
 and shrapnel were screaming and bursting all 
 around him." With his coolness General Loofan 
 
 o 
 
 combined that dashing abandon that quails before 
 nothing that will and energy and daring can ac- 
 complish resistless, vigilant, quick thoughted, and 
 
 energetic. 
 
 The Confederates, retreating from Kenesaw 
 Mountain, fell back upon Atlanta, followed by the 
 Union troops. After some days' skirmishing, the 
 Army of the Tennessee came in sight of Atlanta, 
 and without the knowledge of General Sherman 
 was attacked by the Confederates with a heavy 
 force after it had crossed Peach Tree Creek. 
 Soon after the battle commenced, General Logan, 
 fighting at one moment on one side of his works 
 and the next moment on the other, was informed
 
 -38 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 of the death, in another part of the field, of the 
 beloved General McPherson. Assuming tempo- 
 rary command, General Logan rode up and down 
 his lines, bareheaded, his long black hair stream- 
 ing in the wind, his service-worn slouch hat swing- 
 ing in his bridle hand, and his sword flashing in 
 the other, shouting : " Boys ! McPherson and re- 
 venge !" His daring bravery, amid showers of 
 whistling bullets and screeching shells, inspired 
 the troops, who seven successive times met and 
 repulsed that number of assaults. Eight thousand 
 rebel dead left upon the field at nightfall bore 
 mute witness to their love for their fallen chief 
 and the bravery of his successor. 
 
 General Sherman, in his official report of the 
 battle, after mentioning the death of General 
 McPherson, said: "His sudden death devolved 
 the command of the Army of the Tennessee on 
 the no less brave and gallant General Logan, who 
 nobly sustained his reputation and that of his 
 veteran army, and avenged the death of his com- 
 rade and commander."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE VOLUNTEER EZRA CHAPEL THE CHAMPION 
 OF THE UNION. 
 
 GENERAL LOGAN was justly entitled to 
 the command of the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee after the death of General Mc- 
 Pherson, but West Point influence induced 
 General Sherman to recommend instead General 
 O. O. Howard. General Hooker (who had 
 hardly been mentioned in connection with the 
 position) was so angry because he had not re- 
 ceived it that he asked to be relieved from duty, 
 not wishing to serve under General Howard. 
 But General Logan quietly resumed the command 
 of the Fourteenth Corps, endeared to him by rec- 
 ollections of many a hard-fought field. This 
 showed his genuine .loyalty, his unselfish patriot- 
 ism, and his desire to magnanimously give his 
 whole energy and strength to the Union cause 
 wherever he might be placed, without indulging in 
 arrogant pretensions. 
 
 Resuming command of the Fourteenth Corps, 
 General Logan was engaged on the 29th of July 
 at Ezra Chapel in a sharp fight, which General 
 Howard left to his direction. The losses on both
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 sides were heavy, but after repeated assaults the 
 Confederates retreated, leaving five battle flags, 
 two thousand muskets, and two hundred prison- 
 ers, some of them badly wounded. General How- 
 ard, in transmitting General Logan's report, added: 
 " I wish to express my high gratification with the 
 conduct of the troops engaged. I never saw bet- 
 ter conduct in battle. General Logan, though ill 
 and much worn out, was indefatigable, and the 
 success of the day is as much attributable to him 
 as to any one man." 
 
 On the 2d of September, Atlanta, " the gate city 
 from the North and West to the Southeast," was 
 occupied by the Union troops, who soon after- 
 ward went into summer quarters for rest and re- 
 organization. General Logan, in an order 
 reviewing the campaign, said to his command : 
 
 " You have marched during the campaign, in 
 your windings, the distance of four hundred miles ; 
 have put hors de combat more of the enemy than 
 your corps numbers ; have captured twelve stands 
 of arms, two thousand four hundred and fifty 
 prisoners, and two hundred and ten deserters. 
 The course of your march is marked by the 
 graves of patriotic heroes who have fallen by 
 your side ; but, at the same time, it is more plainly 
 marked by the blood of traitors who have defied 
 the Constitution and laws, insulted and trampled 
 under foot the glorious flag of our country. We 
 deeply sympathize with the friends of those of our
 
 THE VOLUNTEER EZRA CHAPEL. 
 
 comrades-in-arms who have fallen ; our sorrows 
 are only appeased by the knowledge that they fell 
 as brave men, battling for the preservation and 
 perpetuation of one of the best governments of 
 earth. ' Peace be to their ashes.' ' 
 
 The Union armies had battled at the front, 
 crushing out rebellion by gallant deeds, but 
 meanwhile stay-at-home foes were starting "a fire 
 in the rear," secret political societies were creat- 
 ing dissensions and discords amounting to trea- 
 son ; orators and presses were counseling a 
 resistance to the draft, and Confederate emissaries 
 lived on the margin of disobedience to the laws. 
 General Logan, when the army halted at Atlanta, 
 was induced to return to Illinois, where he ad- 
 dressed large assemblies on the political situation. 
 Coming from the scenes of his fame, and almost 
 bringing the smell of gunpowder on his gar- 
 ments, he inspired his hearers with his own confi- 
 dence that God would give success to the Union 
 arms. Kindling within their breast the same patri- 
 otic fires which lighted up his own heart, he in- 
 spired them with a spirit of energetic determina- 
 tion to sustain the Union cause and to re-elect 
 Abraham Lincoln to the Presidential chair. 
 
 The secrecy observed by General Sherman in 
 starting on his " March to the Sea " prevented 
 General Logan from joining his command, and he 
 subsequently reported to General Grant at City 
 Point for orders. He reached there when Gen-
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 eral Grant was annoyed because General Thomas 
 had not assaulted Nashville, having been delayed 
 by storms of rain, which froze as it fell, covering 
 the earth with ice upon which neither man nor 
 beast could stand. An order removing General 
 Thomas telegraphed to Washington not having 
 been promulgated, General Grant ordered Gen- 
 eral Logan to proceed at once to Nashville and 
 await orders. His instructions contemplated his 
 relieving General Thomas if on his arrival no 
 attack had been made upon Hood. Here was a 
 most brilliant position offered that of com- 
 mander of the Army of the Cumberland, just as 
 it had been reorganized and put in order of bat- 
 tle, and stood in its trenches ready for the word 
 to advance. Had ambition alone actuated him, 
 here was the opportunity of a lifetime of active 
 service. But instead of obeying the spirit of his 
 instructions he proceeded with such deliberation 
 as to prove beyond room for cavil that selfish am- 
 bition was not his governing motive. Appreciating 
 the situation, he journeyed to his new post with- 
 out undue haste. The thaw came at last ! Gen- 
 eral Thomas was able to move on the enemy's 
 works, and General Logan, telegraphing the suc- 
 cess of the Army of the Cumberland, requested 
 that he might be ordered to his beloved Four- 
 teenth Corps. This was another proof of his 
 honorable regard for others rather than a thirst 
 for self-a^randizement.
 
 THE VOLUNTEER EZRA CHAPEL. 
 
 Joining the Fourteenth Corps at Savannah, Gen- 
 eral Logan led it in the march through the Caro- 
 linas. At Edisto, on the Saluda, and on the Great 
 Pedee the corps sustained its reputation that it 
 "never met the enemy but to strike and destroy 
 him." It was among the foremost troops in Col- 
 umbia, where it worked hard to extinguish the 
 flames kindled by the Confederates before they 
 hactyeft the city. "I saw,-" said General Sherman 
 in his report," Generals Howard, Logan, and others 
 laboring to save houses and protect families thus 
 suddenly deprived of shelter and of bedding and 
 wearing apparel. We saved what of Columbia 
 remains unconsumed." 
 
 Marching northward through the Carolinas, 
 General Logan participated in the surrender of 
 General Johnson, and arrived with his command 
 at Washington City, to head with his corps the 
 Division of the Mississippi when it made its tri- 
 umphant appearance for final review by President 
 Johnson on the 24th of May, 1865. Alas! that 
 the much loved President Lincoln could not have 
 been present to have rendered that martial 
 pageant complete ! The Army of the Potomac, 
 which had been reviewed the day previous, was 
 familiar to the people of Washington, but they 
 knew little personally of the Division of the Mis- 
 sissippi. They had heard, however, of their heroic 
 acts flanking strongholds, storming hostile works, 
 making gallant charges, marching in triumph
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 through every insurgent State east of the Missis- 
 sippi, and sweeping around like a cyclone to the 
 capital of the Confederacy, literally crushing slav- 
 ery, secession, and State-rights. General Sher- 
 man, on reaching the reviewing stand, dismounted 
 and paid his respects to President Johnson, leav- 
 ing General Logan at the head of the stalwart, 
 weather-browned veterans, who had been led by 
 him from victory to victory to glory and to final 
 triumph. "He rode with light of battle in his 
 face," receiving shouts of applause that must have 
 made his heart leap, and feeling that justice had 
 at last been done him, as he had been promoted 
 that morning to the command of the Army of the 
 Tennessee.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 CIVIL LIFE THE REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. 
 
 WHEN the troops of Illinois " came 
 marching home," crowned with laurels, 
 the voters of General Logan's Con- 
 gressional district, who had seen with pride upon 
 the battle-flao-s the record of his victories, insisted 
 
 o 
 
 upon inscribing his name upon their political ban- 
 ner. He declined the appointment as minister to 
 Mexico, tendered him in 1865 by President John- 
 son, but he accepted the nomination of the Repub- 
 licans of Illinois as their candidate for Representa- 
 tive-at-large in Congress. He received 203,045 
 votes against 147,058 votes for Mr. Dickey, a 
 Democrat. Going to Washington, accompanied 
 by Mrs. Logan, to take his seat in the Fortieth 
 Congress, General Logan lived in the same unos- 
 tentatious way that he had observed before the 
 war. No one could see any assumption of supe- 
 riority on his part, founded on the fact that he was 
 the only citizen who had volunteered as a private, 
 risen to the rank of major-general, and success- 
 fully commanded an army in the field. Yet he 
 had a new class of constituents, not only from 
 Illinois, but from every section of the Union 
 
 597
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 soldiers who wore the blue and soldiers who wore 
 the gray and he has invariably made their wants 
 his cause. Claims for pensions, for supplies fur- 
 nished Union troops, for bounties, and for aid have 
 always received his careful attention, although 
 they have often required investigations at the 
 executive departments, the taking of testimony, 
 the identification of the claimants, a large expendi- 
 ture of time, and often of money never to be 
 repaid. A true friend of the soldiers, General 
 Logan has never failed to urge their claims before 
 Congress, and much of the liberal legislation 
 which has cheered the last years of thousands of 
 maimed and battle-worn veterans was originated 
 and carried through Congress by his personal 
 exertions. He has not been a scrambler for 
 executive patronage, but it has ever been his 
 pride and his pleasure to secure appointments 
 civil, military, or naval for those who served 
 honorably in the war. 
 
 Early in the first session of this Congress, 
 General Logan, learning that there was an organi- 
 zation formed in this country for the invasion of 
 the Republic of Mexico, and the overthrow of its 
 government, introduced a resolution into the 
 House declaring such attempts to violate the 
 neutrality laws at variance with the wishes and 
 f<-elinrrs of all ood citizens of the United 
 
 c* o 
 
 States. The resolution, which the House promptly 
 passed, directed the President, in case he should
 
 THE REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. 
 
 be satisfied of the existence of such oro-ani- 
 
 o 
 
 zations, to issue his proclamation commanding 
 the execution of the laws, and warning all persons 
 who might depart from the United States for the 
 purpose of invading the Republic of Mexico or 
 any other country, or creating any disturbance 
 therein, that they would thereby forfeit all rights 
 to protection under the laws of the United States. 
 
 Congress had been convened, by a special law, 
 on the 4th of March, that the question of recon- 
 struction might not be left in the hands of the 
 President, who was defying the legislative depart- 
 ment of the Governmnt, yet in a few weeks a 
 resolution was introduced providing for an ad- 
 journment until December. This General Logan 
 opposed, saying, as he concluded his remarks : 
 "Shall we place ourselves before the country as 
 if enacting a farce? Did we assemble here to 
 place ourselves in that ridiculous attitude before 
 the country, as a set of men without backbone 
 enough to do that which we called ourselves to- 
 gether to do ?" 
 
 On another occasion General Logan urged the 
 reference to the Committee on Indian Affairs of a 
 joint resolution for the payment of Choctaw and 
 Chickasaw Indian claims. It had been passed by 
 the Senate, and an attempt was made to hurry it 
 through the House, but General Logan presented 
 a statement from the chief of the tribe showing 
 that while the loyal Choctaws had suffered severe
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 losses by the Rebellion, no thoroughly loyal man 
 had presented a claim for damages. " If these 
 things are true," said General Logan, " then these 
 claims should not be paid. And if the gentleman 
 advocating them does not know of their falsity, 
 then that is a good reason why this bill should be 
 referred to a committee." The House referred it. 
 
 As the close of the session approached a reso- 
 lution was introduced authorizing the publication 
 of speeches in the Congressional Globe after the 
 adjournment. To this General Logan objected. 
 " I suggest," said he, " that all speeches \vhich are 
 handed in prior to the adjournment might be 
 printed. But the proposition to give gentlemen 
 an opportunity of going home and writing out 
 answers to speeches made in the House and pub- 
 lishing them in the Congressional Globe is cer- 
 tainly, in my estimation, very objectionable. If 
 gentlemen will give me an opportunity to go 
 home and write a speech in reply to some already 
 published I may malign and libel a member as 
 much as I have a mind to and there is no reply to 
 it. If speeches are to be printed they should at 
 least be presented and printed in the Globe while 
 Congress is in session, so that if there is any at- 
 tack or misstatement it might be replied to before 
 the adjournment of Congress." 
 
 General Logan spoke at some length on re- 
 construction. He declared that the Union sol- 
 diers never dreamt that for every rebel they killed
 
 THE REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS. 
 
 at the South they were making an enemy at the 
 North, now that the brave men who fought them, 
 and whom they had to literally overwhelm before 
 they could conquer them, were ready to for- 
 get the past and be friends, as we all ought to be 
 again. In conclusion he said: "I have seen quite 
 enough of carnage and private and national dis- 
 tress, and long to see the day come again when 
 we shall be as peaceful, prosperous, and happy as 
 we were before that crawling serpent, 'Secession, 
 sought to strangle us in our national cradle. That 
 day may soon come again if the South will rise 
 up sternly resolved that they will follow Naaman 
 through the Jordan of repentance until the leprosy 
 of treason and Democracy shall be washed out of 
 their political system. How much they have been 
 benefited by the sympathies of the Democracy 
 they ought by this time to be able to estimate and 
 appreciate. The hour they discover they possess 
 the good sense and courage to repudiate openly 
 and emphatically treason and embrace warmly 
 and sincerely loyalty, they will see dawn upon 
 them the bright morning of their regeneration and 
 deliverance." 
 
 When the Army of the Tennessee was home- 
 ward bound, its principal officers organized in 
 the Senate Chamber of the capital at Raleigh, 
 North Carolina, a society to "keep alive and pre- 
 serve that kindly and cordial feeling which had 
 been one of the characteristics of that army during
 
 5o2 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 its glorious career." At the first election of offi- 
 cers, General Rawlins was chosen President and 
 General Logan the First Vice-President, and he 
 has always manifested a great interest in its an- 
 nual meetings. General Logan was also the first 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic, an organization which has since placed 
 on its rolls a large majority of the surviving vol- 
 unteer soldiery of the United States, bound by 
 the triple bond of Union "Fraternity, Charity, 
 and Loyalty,"
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE LEGISLATOR THE MANAGER OF IMPEACH- 
 MENT. 
 
 AT the second session of the Fortieth Con- 
 gress, General Logan was reappointed 
 chairman of a joint Committee on Ord- 
 nance, which, as he remarked, had been sitting 
 with open doors, and had disclosed the existence 
 of great frauds perpetrated on the Government in 
 contracts. He also asserted " that more of our 
 own men were killed in the late war by our own 
 ammunition, fired from our own light and heavy 
 field-pieces, than were killed by the heavy and 
 light artillery of the enemy. Guns are made to-day 
 for the use of the army and navy that are the in- 
 vention of some men directly connected with one 
 or the other of these departments. Indeed, no 
 other men can have an opportunity of getting such 
 contracts." 
 
 A bill having been introduced for the employ- 
 ment of additional clerks for the settlement of 
 bounty claims, General Logan offered a substitute 
 providing that preference should be given to 
 soldiers and sailors who had served faithfully. 
 His reason for urging this, as he frankly gave it, 
 
 603
 
 604 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 was, " I know that if soldiers and sailors are em- 
 ployed as clerks they will feel more interest in 
 performing that duty for the benefit of their 
 former comrades who have been with them in 
 arms, than will others who have not the same 
 sympathy with or feeling for them that they have 
 with and for each other." 
 
 One of the Illinois Democrats having extended 
 a few remarks into a long and labored attack 
 upon the Republican party, before putting it in 
 print General Logan called him to account. In 
 attempting to defend himself, the member cast 
 some personal reflections on General Logan, who 
 promptly replied : " In regard to what my col- 
 league has said about his being a gentleman I 
 have nothing to say. I do not desire to reply to 
 insinuations made in such bitterness and coming 
 from the lips of a gentleman so highly cultivated 
 that he can insinuate here that I am an illiterate 
 man. I desire not to say anything to affect the 
 honesty, the moral integrity, or the personal 
 standing of any gentleman who stands so high 
 that he can cast an insinuation of that kind upon 
 a colleague in this House. True it is, I was not 
 educated in any of the higher colleges, nor was 
 my colleague. I was educated, however, in a 
 town that had church steeples. Whether my col- 
 league can say as much is for him to answer. I 
 do not claim that I am one of the highly educated 
 gentlemen of this House ; I claim no such thing.
 
 THE MANAGER OF IMPEACHMENT. 
 
 But I will say to my colleague that he, with his 
 own knowledge of his own abilities and erudition, 
 should be the last man to insinuate anything 
 against the education or abilities of any man on 
 this floor." 
 
 In the reduction of the army, General Logan 
 claimed that a fair share of the officers appointed 
 from the volunteers should be retained. " Sir," 
 said he, " four years of experience in the field is 
 worth four years of experience within the walls of 
 West Point. I insist that those civilians who have 
 served in the army shall have the same rights and 
 privileges under our legislation as these West 
 Point men, who have been protected, fostered, and 
 sustained by every law Congress has passed in 
 regard to this subject. The people of the country 
 do not understand that an officer of the army has 
 an inalienable right to hold on to his commission as 
 long as life lasts with more tenacity, apparently, 
 sometimes, than ordinary men adhere to it." 
 
 General Logan was chosen by the House of 
 Representatives one of the Managers to impeach 
 President Andrew Johnson for high crimes and 
 misdemeanors and to conduct his trial. His ar- 
 guments during the trial displayed legal research 
 and a thorough acquaintance with the constitu- 
 tional powers and prerogatives of the President 
 of the United States. He reviewed the evidence 
 sustaining the charges in the articles of impeach- 
 ment, and demonstrated that the President had
 
 GENERAL JOHN A. LOG AX. 
 
 been false to the people who had taken him from 
 obscurity and conferred on him high distinction, 
 false to the memory of him whose death made 
 him President, false to the principles of our con- 
 test for national life, false to the Constitution and 
 laws of the land, and false to his oath of office. 
 In concluding his eloquent arraignment he said that 
 he was "overwhelmed with emotion. Memory 
 is busy with the scenes of the years which have 
 intervened between March 4th, 1861, and this day. 
 Our great war, its battles, and ten thousand inci- 
 dents, without mental bidding and beyond control, 
 almost pass in panoramic view before me. As in 
 the presence of those whom I have seen fall in 
 battle as we rushed to victory, or die of wounds 
 or disease in hospital far from home and the loved 
 ones, to be seen no more until the grave gives up 
 its dead, have I endeavored to discharge my hum- 
 ble part in this great trial." 
 
 General Logan was also actively engaged at this 
 session in the discussion of the appropriation bills, 
 of the funding bills, of the tax bill, of the bill 
 granting pensions to the soldiers of 1812, of the 
 bill for the purchase f Alaska, and of other im- 
 portant public measures. Once he spoke at 
 length on the principles of the Democratic party, 
 asserting that the Democratic platform is a 
 " whited sepulchre, full of dead men's bones ;" 
 and saying: "It is a monument which is intended 
 to hide decay and conceal corruption. Like many
 
 THE MANAGER OF IMPEACHMENT. 
 
 other monuments, it attracts attention by its vast 
 proportions and excites disgust by the falsity of 
 its inscriptions. The casual observer, knowing 
 nothing of the previous life of the deceased, who 
 reads this eulogy upon the tomb, might imagine 
 that all the virtues, the intellect, and the genius of 
 the age were buried there. But to him who 
 knows that the life had been a living lie, an inces- 
 sant pursuit of base ends, the stone is a mockery 
 and the panegyric a fable. It is my purpose to 
 show, sir, that this Democratic platform is mock- 
 ery of the past, and that its promises for the 
 future are hollow, evasive, and fabulous; that it 
 disregards the sanctities of truth and deals only 
 in the language of the juggler. It is like the 
 words of the weird witches, who wrought a noble 
 nature to crime and ruin, and then, in the hour of 
 dire extremity s 
 
 'Kept the word of promise to the ear 
 And broke it to the hope. ' " 
 
 At the short closing session of the Fortieth 
 Congress, General Lo^an continued his interest 
 
 & > 
 
 in the questions which he had previously supported 
 or opposed, especially the operations of the pen- 
 sion laws and the bill to strengthen the public 
 credit. He was not in favor of a bill retaining 
 officials in office, as he considered it class legisla- 
 tion, and he spoke at length against granting sub- 
 sidies to the Denver Pacific Railroad. "Sir," said 
 General Logan, on the latter point, " I am in favor
 
 GENERAL JOILV A. LOGAN. 
 
 of the great march of improvement, of civilization, 
 and a general development of all the wealth and 
 resources of this country. But, sir, that is no 
 reason why, as a representative of my constituents, 
 I should stand by and see the Treasury every day 
 growing leaner and leaner by the inroads made 
 upon it by these railroad and other corporations. 
 I am not willing to do it. I say to my friends in 
 this House ; I say to my Republican friends 
 although I do not regard this as a political mea- 
 sure by any means that we pledged ourselves 
 to our constituents in the convention that nomina- 
 ted our President-elect that economy should be 
 our watchword. If we are true to the men that 
 elected us we shall stand by that pledge to-day."
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LEGISLATOR THE GRAND ARMY. 
 
 GENERAL GRANT was inaugurated Pres- 
 ident on the 4th of March, 1869, and on 
 that day General Logan took his seat in 
 the House of Representatives, having been re- 
 elected as a member-at-large from Illinois by a 
 splendid majority. On the first day of the session 
 he aided in the election of James G. Elaine for 
 Speaker, and a few days later he was appointed 
 chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. 
 The reduction of the army had not been completed, 
 and General Logan diligently continued the work, 
 lopping off supernumerary staff officers, retrench- 
 ing unnecessary expenses, yet providing for the en- 
 listed men and protecting the colored veterans 
 against the swindling claim agents. 
 
 General Lo<jan also looked after the interests 
 
 o 
 
 of bis constituents as affected by proposed tax 
 legislation and boldly denounced those engaged 
 in robbing the Government. " Gentlemen," said 
 
 *._> 
 
 he, "are always talking here about a 'Whisky 
 Ringr;' but one-half of them do not know what 
 
 o ' 
 
 that phrase means. I will tell what it means. It 
 means an association of whisky men leagued to- 
 
 609
 
 6 IO GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAX. 
 
 gether in a secret organization, with a president, 
 with an attorney, with agents sent here to this 
 Congress; and the members of this association 
 subscribe money, not for the purpose of hiring 
 anybody, not for any declared object, but they 
 subscribe money, which their attorney and agents 
 take ; and they never know what becomes of the 
 money. I made an investigation of this matter 
 when I was a member of the Committee of Ways 
 and Means, and I know what I state. The very 
 same association of men by whom this is done 
 are the men who are to-day demanding that 
 this proposition shall be passed. And if this 
 measure be adopted it will be in the interest of 
 the same rotten 'ring' that has already robbed the 
 Government of millions of dollars." 
 
 General Logan opposed retiring a colonel in 
 the regular army, who had at one time during 
 the war commanded a division, with the rank and 
 pension of a major-general. He did not believe 
 that the regular army officers assigned to gene- 
 rals' command at the first battle of Bull Run 
 should all be retired with that rank. 
 
 At the second session of the Forty-first Con- 
 gress General Logan took an active part in break- 
 ing up the existing practice in which some 
 Representatives had indulged of selling their 
 rights to appoint cadets at West Point. In 
 one of these cases where a Representative had 
 asked and received five hundred dollars for
 
 THE LEGISLATOR THE GRAND ARMY. j j 
 
 appointing a young man resident in a dis- 
 tant State as a cadet from his district a 
 good deal of sympathy was manifested for the 
 offender. General Butler, who was his personal 
 friend, defended him with his well-known legal 
 ability, but General Logan was inexorable. "What 
 we shall do," said he, " will not be done in any 
 spirit of ill-feeling or revenge, or from a desire to 
 punish any man, but because we are impelled by 
 a sense of justice, by a sense of propriety, by a 
 determination which should be felt by every offi- 
 cer of the Government to perform our duty faith- 
 fully, without fear, favor, or reward, or the hope 
 of promise thereof. Charity should find no home, 
 mercy find no proper abiding place, leniency no 
 place of rest where justice may thereby be thwarted. 
 Justice claims the highest place in the mind 
 and heart of every man ; and it claims the right 
 to have judgments, though tempered with leniency 
 and charity, based upon a legal and proper basis." 
 The guilty member was expelled by a vote of 187 
 yeas, no' nays, and 35 absent or not voting. 
 
 General Logan was also prominent during this 
 session in advocating legislation opposing poly- 
 gamy, on the revival of American navigation, on 
 the Southern contested election cases, on the ap- 
 propriation bills, and especially on the reduction of 
 the army. He showed the great abuses- that had 
 sprung up during the war, and demonstrated that 
 the saving effected by the bill reported by him by
 
 6j 2 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 reducing extra pay and emoluments would be 
 about three millions of dollars. He declared that 
 Congress should do justice to the army, but that 
 at the same time it should "do justice to its own 
 constituents to the people who pay the taxes of 
 this country." 
 
 " Congress," said he, " has been looked upon, 
 it seems, heretofore as merely the recorders of 
 the edicts of the heads of army bureaus in refer- 
 ence to matters of this kind. Let it be under- 
 stood that intelligent and just action is all that 
 can be demanded of Congress, and that bluster 
 and denunciation of proper action is at a dis- 
 count, while the exercise of sound judgment and 
 a due respect for the interest of the whole peo- 
 ple, who make and unmake officers of all classes, 
 is at a premium." 
 
 At the third session of the Forty-first Congress 
 General Logan interested himself in securing the 
 passage of a bill giving homesteads to honorably 
 discharged soldiers. The issue of land warrants, 
 he said, would benefit officers, and they would 
 find their way into the hands of speculators. But 
 he wished the private soldier to receive a home 
 as a patrimony for his patriotism. He carefully 
 scrutinized a bill extending certain privileges to 
 corporations, which he thought might exempt them 
 from accountability to State laws ; he advocated 
 the abolition of the office of admiral, made vacant 
 by the death of the gallant Farragut ; he opposed
 
 THE LEGISLATOR THE GRAND ARMY. j , 
 
 the raising of bodies of "rangers" for Indian hos- 
 tilities independent of the army, and he discussed 
 a bill restoring three cadets who had been dis- 
 missed from the military academy at West Point, 
 uro-ino- the House to re-examine the case. 
 
 o o 
 
 "Let us," said he, "be controlled by the facts 
 and governed by an honest judgment. Let us 
 not be influenced as to who are the fathers and 
 relatives of these young men. One of these 
 young men who is mentioned as having taken a 
 part in this transaction is a young man who was 
 appointed by myself. He is a relative of my 
 family. His people are my neighbors. His father 
 was a gallant soldier and served under me during 
 the war. Notwithstanding all this I have a duty 
 to perform, and that duty as an officer of this 
 country I shall perform. No personal or politi- 
 cal considerations shall influence me in the per- 
 formance of my sworn duty." 
 
 The National Encampment of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic, which held its fourth annual ses- 
 sion at Washington on the I2th of May, 1870, re- 
 elected General Logan as Commander-in-Chief. 
 In his annual address he urged the establishment 
 of Memorial Day, to be observed by fitting honor 
 to those who died that their country might live. 
 Repudiating the charge that the Grand Army was 
 a political association, he declared that its only 
 political creed was " the love of our country and 
 its hallowed institutions."
 
 5 ! A GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 In May, 1871, the National Encampment of the 
 Grand Army met at Boston, and at a banquet 
 given there General Logan said : " While organi- 
 zations of officers were formed for keeping up fra- 
 ternal relations, it was asked: 'Where shall the 
 one-legged soldiers meet ? Where shall the lame, 
 the maimed.and the disabled assemble ?' And the 
 same voice said : ' Where is my widow ? Where 
 are my orphans ? Who is there to protect them, 
 to heal the wounds of their spirit ? This voice 
 was answered first by a soldier poor. and weak in 
 body, but with a great mind. He spoke to many, 
 and I was one of them, of forming an organization 
 where soldiers could meet and by joint effort extend 
 the hand of chanty to the' widow and the orphan. 
 This soldier, with the assistance of several others, 
 drafted the by-laws and constitution for the Grand 
 Army of the Republic. The order was organized 
 in Springfield, Illinois, and the name of the orig- 
 inator is Dr. Stevenson. The organization has 
 
 O 
 
 gone on to the present day ; it has taken into its 
 ranks the officers of each of the Grand Armies of 
 the Union ; it receives every soldier who has an 
 honorable discharge, from whatever army, corps, 
 or division he may come. I have presided over 
 the order for three years, and the gallant Burnside 
 has been unanimously elected my successor. It 
 has, as an organization, done much good, more 
 even than the most of you are aware of. It is for 
 the purpose of giving an opportunity to all soldiers
 
 THE LEGISLATOR THE GRAND ARMY. fa g 
 
 of standing upon the same noble platform. That 
 platform is fraternity, loyalty, and charity fra- 
 ternity to one another ; loyalty to the starry ban- 
 ner, to the Constitution and laws of the United 
 States, to the integrity of this great and mighty 
 Union, and to the principles upon which it was 
 founded."
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 THE SENATOR THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 
 
 ELECTED a United States Senator from 
 Illinois, to succeed Hon. Richard Yates, 
 early in 1871, General Logan took his 
 seat on the 4th of March. He was placed on the 
 Committee on Military Affairs, and he vigorously 
 protested against the deposition of Charles Sum- 
 ner from the chairmanship of the Committee on 
 Foreign Relations. " Twelve years ago," said he, 
 " when I came to Congress, I differed with the 
 Senator from Massachusetts in my political opin- 
 ions. I had always recognized him as a man 
 of great ability, as a man of sterling integrity 
 and worth ; yet I had no sympathy whatever 
 with his political views. But I was attracted 
 toward him in my sympathies and feelings because 
 of the fact that I stood many times in this chamber 
 and saw him stand like a Roman Senator and hurl 
 away the curs of slavery as they snapped and 
 snarled at him. I many times saw him disperse 
 them in debate on the floor of the Senate. I 
 learned then to admire him, although I did not 
 fully agree with him. He then, sir, led the army 
 of liberty in this country. He was its leader in 
 616
 
 THE SENATOR THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 
 
 617 
 
 the Senate, its leader everywhere, as its orator, as 
 its advocate, as the man that advanced opinions, 
 as the man that went far in advance and only 
 beckoned to others to come forward with him and 
 give liberty to all the people of this country. 
 During- the terrible war through which we have 
 passed he was one of the great leaders in the 
 Senate. Through all our trials and difficulties, 
 through our misfortunes and our triumphs, he 
 stood at the head of the men in favor of liberty in 
 this land. When this Administration came into 
 power he still, as the great debater, as the great 
 statesman in this land, stood at the head of all. 
 He was a friend of the Administration. I hope 
 that the friendly personal relation between them 
 may be restored and again exist." 
 
 General Logan introduced in the Senate, and had 
 passed against strong opposition on constitutional 
 grounds, a bill relieving the sufferers by the great 
 fire in Chicago by permitting them to import 
 building material free of duty. The next year 
 the same relief was asked for the city of Boston, 
 and General Logan advocated granting it. " Sir," 
 said he, " as a citizen of Chicago, I have seen fire 
 in all its fiendish fury; I have seen its destruction 
 and its calamity ; I have seen the sorrow that fol- 
 lowed it ; I have seen the destruction of property 
 caused by that great element ; I have seen it strike 
 down the pride of the people of a great city, and 
 when I know that the same thing has seized on
 
 6 j 8 GENERAL JOHN A. L OGAN. 
 
 other communities, it must at least arouse in my 
 breast the same feeling and the same sympathy." 
 
 General Logan not only presented the petitions 
 of many disabled soldiers for pensions and secured 
 action on them, but he had passed a number of 
 bills for the general benefit of the war-veterans, , 
 especially those who were disabled. He intro- 
 duced a bill to incorporate a Training School for 
 the orphans of Union soldiers and sailors, and he 
 showed his appreciation of those who had given 
 up their lives while serving under the old flag by 
 securing appropriations for the military ceme- 
 teries near the City of Mexico and at the Salisbury 
 Prison, and for the erection of the statue to 
 General John A. Rawlins which now graces the 
 Federal Metropolis. 
 
 When General Grant was assailed in the Senate 
 General Logan was his most eloquent defender. 
 "What," said he, "has the tanner from Galena 
 done ? He has written his history in deeds which 
 will live so long as pens are dipped in ink, so long 
 as men read, and so long as history is written. The 
 history of that man is worth something. It is val- 
 uable; it is not a history of glittering generalities 
 and declamation in speeches, but it is a history of 
 great deeds and great things accomplished for his 
 country." After graphically reviewing General 
 Grant's Western campaigns, in which he had served 
 under him, General Logan alluded to the succes- 
 
 O 
 
 sive defeats of the Army of the Potomac and went
 
 THE SENATOR THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. 5,0 
 
 on to say: "General Grant was brought to the 
 Army of the Potomac. He made a success ; he 
 won the battle ; victory perched upon our ban- 
 ners; we succeeded; slavery was abolished, and 
 our country saved." In conclusion, General Lo- 
 gan urged disaffected Republicans to " stand by 
 the old ship, in which there is life, and outside of 
 which there is death. But whether they do or 
 not success will be ours; this Government will be 
 peaceful, the people happy and prosperous, har- 
 mony and unity will prevail, to the great advance- 
 ment of the material interests of this great nation." 
 In 1873, General Logan delivered the annual 
 oration at the seventh annual meeting of the 
 Army of the Tennessee, at Toledo, Ohio. After 
 reviewing the glorious war record of the army 
 and paying a feeling tribute to its deceased offi- 
 cers, he eloquently said : " And now that peace 
 is restored and the power of the nation mani- 
 fested and its authority vindicated, we should 
 glory in its perpetuity and triumph and teach our 
 posterity to. honor that old flag emblem of peace 
 and prosperity. For three-quarters of a century, 
 in every land and every clime, it has been the 
 banner of freedom and token of liberty the star- 
 spangled banner that has gathered millions from 
 lands of oppression and homes of servitude. In 
 foreign lands the wanderer has greeted it with 
 gladdened eyes and thankful heart as he beheld 
 it floating from the mast. It is the same banner
 
 6 2 O GENERAL JOHN A. L OGAN. 
 
 that waved over that noble band of patriots that 
 won our independence, led on by the immortal 
 Washington. Its flaming folds hurled back 
 defiance from the ramparts at New Orleans and 
 flaunted in the face of invaders. On the heights 
 of Chapultepec and towers of New Mexico it 
 floated proudly as the token of victory and the 
 evidence of success. From the walls of Sumter it 
 proclaimed unflinching war with secession and 
 unyielding strife with disunion. During the long 
 and wearisome marches through the States in 
 rebellion it gladdened the eyes and nerved the 
 hand of the weary Union soldier and proclaimed 
 freedom to the oppressed. On a hundred battle- 
 fields it cheered the heart of the dying patriot as 
 he beheld it borne on in triumph amidst the shouts 
 of victory. All hail ! proud old banner of the free. 
 No ruthless hand shall despoil thee; no dark cloud 
 of treason shall ever dim thy lustre. Float on in 
 the breeze ; you shall be preserved and cherished, 
 amid all the vicissitudes of the future, as the 
 emblem of liberty." 
 
 The outrages in the State of Louisiana met 
 
 o. 
 
 with General Logan's severe condemnation, and 
 
 o 
 
 he earnestly defended President Grant and Gen- 
 eral Sheridan, who had been denounced for their 
 action against the " White Leagues." " Why," 
 he asked, "are Democratic Senators quiet? Men 
 cannot say, either here or elsewhere, that these 
 wrongs are perpetrated by Republicans. You,
 
 THE SENATOR THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND. g^j 
 
 gentlemen, sit silent here ; and your silence and 
 your acquiescence and your defense of every 
 wrong that is perpetrated upon the unfortunate 
 man, poor though he may be, colored though he 
 may be, indicate what there is in your hearts." 
 
 General Logan's first term as Senator expired 
 in 1877, and he was unanimously nominated by 
 the Republicans of the Illinois Legislature for re- 
 election, but that party lacked three votes of a 
 majority, and, after a long contest, Judge David 
 Davis was elected by the combined votes of the 
 Democrats and Independents.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 RETURN TO THE SENATE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. 
 
 IN 1879, the Republicans of Illinois had again 
 a majority in the Legislature, and elected 
 General Logan to the Senate to succeed 
 Governor Oglesby. He took his seat on the i6th 
 of March, and at once recommenced his exer- 
 tions for securing arrears of pensions to the 
 Union veterans of the late war, which he had 
 passed several times in the Senate to see it fall 
 into some of the legislative traps of the House. 
 In a long debate on the Army Appropriation bill, 
 General Logan gave a clear analysis of the rela- 
 tions of the military force to the civil power of 
 the Government, and exposed the arrogant at- 
 tempts of the Democratic party to control the 
 Government. "The Republicans," he told the 
 Democratic Senators, " will not relinquish any of 
 those advanced principles which have inured to 
 the Government and the people through the suf- 
 ferings of the war. They will never abandon 
 the principles enunciated in the Thirteenth, Four- 
 teenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Consti- 
 tution. They will never permit a modification of 
 the rights of the four million blacks of the South. 
 622
 
 RETURN TO THE SENATE. 
 
 They, after having been liberated from slavery 
 and elevated to the full rights of citizenship, shall 
 not be remanded to a condition as bad or worse 
 than serfdom or peonage. They will never, never 
 quietly permit, sir, the elective franchise, upon 
 the purity of which rests our whole political 
 structure, to be dispensed at the hands of hired 
 ruffians and paid assassins." 
 
 General Logan attended the National Republi- 
 can Convention at Chicago, in 1880, to advocate 
 the nomination of General Grant, believing- that 
 
 o 
 
 he could carry several Southern States and thus 
 overthrow "the Solid South." The Chicago Jour- 
 nal said of him : " He is a stalwart Grant man, 
 standing by his great .commander now with the 
 same chivalric spirit which prevented him from 
 assuming command of Thomas' army on the eve 
 of victory, as he could have done under his in- 
 structions." How nobly he carried out the prom- 
 ise of that letter ! When Garfield received a ma- 
 jority of the votes at the Chicago Convention it 
 was Logan'who so warmly and fervently seconded 
 the motion to make the vote for him unanimous, 
 and who was the first to promise that he, with the 
 Garfield men, would " go forward in this contest, 
 not with tied hands, not with sealed lips, not with 
 bridled tongues, but to speak the truth in favor of 
 the grandest party that has ever been organized 
 in this country ; to maintain its principles, to 
 maintain its power, to preserve its ascendency."
 
 <;/:. VA A-.//, JOIL\ ./. I.O(,A.\. 
 
 General Garfield was highly gratified when, at 
 the ratification meeting held at Washington on the 
 
 o o 
 
 i6th of June, 1880, General Logan came forward 
 to speak, receiving enthusiastic applause. When 
 quiet had been partially restored, he said : " If 
 any one desired to know who his first and last 
 choice was, he would answer : the nominee of the 
 Republican party. The candidate that now bore 
 its banner was all that he or the people could de- 
 sire. If the people of this country desired a born 
 leader they had it in the person of James A. Gar- 
 field. No matter who the first or second choice 
 had been, let the only choice now be the nominee. 
 All sores should be healed, and there should be 
 no feeling save one of success ; and to his old 
 comrades he would say: Touch elbows on the 
 march, and press forward to certain victory." 
 
 In July, 1880, the Republican National Com- 
 mittee placed General Logan at the head of the 
 Executive Committee in charge of the Republican 
 campaign in the West. Within a week thereafter 
 he opened the contest in Illinois with a ringing, 
 two hours' speech at Murphysboro' a great 
 speech, covering the records of both parties, elab- 
 orate, exhaustive, direct, and convincing before 
 an audience larger than had ever before been 
 
 o 
 
 seen there at a political meeting. " Logan," said 
 one who knew, "neither sulked nor lamented. He 
 was the first of the stalwarts to take off his coat 
 and mount the stump for Garfiold. His labors in
 
 RETURN TO THE SENATE. 
 
 62S 
 
 this State [Illinois] were little short of Herculean. 
 He spoke night and day, and his speeches plain, 
 practical, destitute of rhetorical flourishes, and 
 dealing in the questions that were asked during 
 the canvass had an immense effect upon his au- 
 ditors." From the beginning of the campaign to 
 its close in November, besides his other labors 
 and in addition to indoor addresses, to audiences 
 ranging from a few thousands up to forty thou- 
 sand, oration after oration signalized his appear- 
 ance everywhere. Said a special telegram from 
 Pittsfield, in the Inter- Ocean of November i st, after 
 alluding to his speech there the previous evening : 
 "Thus ends one of the most remarkable per- 
 sonal campaigns ever made. Senator Logan has 
 made over sixty open-air speeches, extending 
 from Maine to Illinois. He spoke in Indiana 
 nearly a month almost every day, and one day 
 made no less than nine different speeches." True 
 to Garfield, the Republican nominee, he was as 
 true to Garfield, the Republican President. After 
 Garfield's inauguration, when trouble arose within 
 the party, Logan supported the Administration 
 cordially. As has been well said by another, 
 " While not assailing his friend Conkling, he yet 
 gave him no encouragement in his contest with 
 the President. He rather assumed the attitude 
 of a peacemaker and sought to heal all wounds 
 and put an end to all dissensions in the party." 
 General Logan's speeches in defense of the
 
 626 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 verdict of the Court which tried Fitz John Porter 
 have been alike exhaustive and able, giving the 
 views of a soldier on a soldier's conduct, with a 
 wonderful array of authorities from martial law, 
 historical facts, illustration, and appeal. The New 
 York Tribune said of the principal effort : " Prob- 
 ably never before within the history of the Senate 
 has a speech, lasting through the sessions of four 
 days, been listened to with such attention," and it 
 recalled to old-stagers at the Capitol the great 
 speeches of Benton, in completeness and force. 
 
 When the National Republican Convention 
 met again at Chicago, in June, 1884, many sup- 
 ported General Logan as their first choice for 
 nomination as Presidential candidate. A larger 
 number, however, preferred the Hon. James G. 
 Elaine, of Maine, and when General Logan 
 learned this he immediately telegraphed to his 
 friends to support " the Plumed Knight," who 
 was then nominated. The Convention then unan- 
 imously nominated General Logan for Vice-Pres- 
 ident, amid great enthusiasm, which was echoed 
 in every loyal soldier's heart in the land.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SOLDIER STATESMAN THE CANDIDATE. 
 
 THE preceding pages give the salient points 
 of General Logan's eventful life. A well- 
 educated and able lawyer, a brave and 
 gallant soldier, a meritorious legislator, and a suc- 
 cessful politician, he has an unassailable record 
 and his personal popularity is unbounded. Reared 
 on a farm, and now the successful cultivator of his 
 own fertile acres, he is regarded as the farmer's 
 true friend. " To see him," said the Springfield, 
 Illinois, Monitor, "at Carbondale, with a wide- 
 brimmed straw hat, blue woolen shirt, and but- 
 ternut pants on, astride of his favorite ' Dolly,' 
 going backward and forward to his wheat-fields, 
 and while there taking a hand 'shocking' after his 
 twine-binders, is a sight which every constituency 
 of Senators is not permitted to witness. After a 
 hard day's work in the field with the boys he lies 
 on the grass with them in the evening, while 
 lemonade is freely passed around, and all hands 
 join in discussing the news of the day. This is 
 John A. Logan at home, and yet some people 
 wonder why it is that he has such a hold on the 
 boys." A farmer himself, he knows what legisla- 
 
 627
 
 628 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. 
 
 tion the farmers want, and does his best to secure 
 it for them, whether through protection or other- 
 wise. 
 
 Born in the great Mississippi Valley and iden- 
 tified with Western interests, General Logan has 
 always advocated heartily measures for improving 
 the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and making them 
 the great thoroughfares by which our grain can 
 be sent to the European markets. He also favors 
 a ship canal from Chicago to the Mississippi 
 River, and the Sonoma, Illinois, Index said of 
 him: "Not only his own State, but the whole 
 Mississippi Valley, receives the benefit of his 
 watchful care ; he has secured more and larger 
 appropriations for the entire region drained by 
 the Mississippi than have any half-dozen other 
 Senators combined. No man understands more 
 fully the condition of public affairs, and none is 
 more watchful of the public welfare." 
 
 The loyal veterans of the Union army recognize 
 in General Logan a true type of the citizen-sol- 
 dier. Rising- from the ranks to the command of 
 
 O 
 
 the Army of the Tennessee, he severed his polit- 
 ical ties and fought gallantly for the Union. He 
 never asked his men to go where he dared not go 
 himself, but he often led where even the bravest 
 needed all the inspiration of his gallant example 
 to follow. Without flinching, with resolute will, 
 common sense, and measureless persistence, he 
 obeyed the orders of his superiors, not with me-
 
 THE SOLDIER STATESMAN THE CANDIDATE, 
 
 chanical obedience, bat with an intelligent instinct 
 that often anticipated orders, and his discipline 
 was tempered with forbearance and with courtesy. 
 His subordinate officers loved and respected him, 
 and the enlisted men of his command remember 
 that they were treated as citizens who had been 
 prompted by patriotism to enter the ranks, and 
 were not degraded by the abuse of martinets. 
 
 Among his Congressional colleagues, at -the 
 bar, and in social life, General Logan is loved the 
 most by those who know him best. Free from 
 the enslaving vices which have clouded some of 
 the brightest intellects in the national councils 
 and in the armies of the nation, General Logan 
 is rather domestic in his habits, refined in his 
 tastes, courteous in his deportment, a 
 
 " Friend to truth ! of soul sincere, 
 In action faithful, and in honor clear." 
 
 He is a student, not skimming over new pub- 
 lications, but reading or having read to him - 
 standard works on subjects with which he desires 
 to become familiar. He never appears to be 
 hurried or flustered, but performs his duties 
 systematically and thoroughly. His is " a sound 
 mind in a sound body," and he is sustained by 
 his religious faith in the path of duty. The 
 Methodist Episcopal Church numbers General 
 Logan and his wife among its members. 
 
 The colored people have always found General
 
 6^ GENERAL JOI/V A. LOGAN. 
 
 iJ 
 
 Logan ready to sustain the rights guaranteed to 
 them by the Constitution. In a speech in 1880, 
 after quoting the Fourteenth Amendment and 
 showing the fallacy of the reasoning of those 
 who hold that the National Government has ample 
 power and would exercise it to the extent of war, 
 if need be, to protect the American citizen on 
 foreign soil, but has no power to protect the 
 American citizen on our own soil, he says: "It 
 would be quite as reasonable to say you cannot 
 protect your property on your own farm, but as 
 soon as it is safely placed on your neighbor's you 
 may do so, even to the shedding of blood ! 
 
 " I think the people of this or any other Gov- 
 ernment would prefer to have protection at home 
 rather than be compelled to go to foreign soil for 
 it. I do not agree to this latter doctrine for a mo- 
 ment. The fabric of our Government is not so 
 weak as this. It is a Government clothed by the 
 people with sovereign powers, through which jus- 
 tice can be administered, domestic tranquillity pre- 
 served, the common defense provided for, the 
 general welfare promoted, the blessings of liberty 
 secured to all, and its citizens at home and abroad 
 protected in all the rights pertaining to them as 
 citizens of the Republic ; and unless the authority 
 shall be asserted under the Constitution and laws 
 to do this there is great danger menacing the Re- 
 public." 
 
 General Logan is of middle height, broad-
 
 THE SOLDIER STATESMAN THE CANDIDATE M 
 
 shouldered, with a head well poised, a thick 
 growth of jet black hair, which he wears some- 
 what long, a heavy black moustache, and eyes 
 that seem to read one through at a glance. His 
 manners are soldier-like, and among strangers 
 dignified almost to austerity, but when among 
 friends he is jovial and amiable. He speaks with 
 great ease, and with a subdued earnestness that 
 impresses and wins the attention of his auditors, 
 and his voice, though sonorous, enlists the sym- 
 pathies of listeners. Without the polished graces 
 of a university style, seldom making a quotation, 
 rarely indulging in an anecdote, he speaks with 
 an earnestness that carries conviction with his 
 argument. In debate he displays great boldness 
 and skill, and a readiness in attack or defense 
 which gives him great strength. 
 
 General Logan and his accomplished wife have 
 two children. Their daughter is the wife of Pay- 
 master Tucker, of the army, who has been sta- 
 tioned for some years past at Santa Fe, in New 
 Mexico ; arid their son, Manning Logan, who has 
 inherited his father's military spirit, is a cadet at 
 the West Point Military Academy. The General's 
 home is a pleasant house on Calumet Avenue, in 
 Chicago, and he owns the family homestead in 
 Southern Illinois. When at Washington he has 
 occupied for some years past two rooms at a 
 modest boarding-house on Twelfth Street. 
 
 General Henderson, chairman of the Commit-
 
 6, 2 GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN 
 
 tee appointed at Chicago to notify the candidates 
 for President and Vice-President of their nomina- 
 tion, well said in his address to General Logan 
 that in his election the people of the country will 
 furnish new proof of the excellence of our insti- 
 tutions. Without wealth, without help from others, 
 without any resources except those of heart, con- 
 science, intellect, energy, and courage, he has won 
 a high place in the world's history and secured 
 the confidence and affection of his countrymen. 
 Being one of the people, his sympathies are with 
 the people. In civil life his chief care has been 
 to better their condition, to secure their rights 
 and perpetuate their liberties. When the Govern- 
 ment was threatened by armed treason he en- 
 tered its service as a private, became a com- 
 mander of armies, and is now the ideal of the 
 citizen-soldiers of this Republic. Such, in the 
 judgment of the Republican party, is the candi- 
 date it has selected. 
 
 With Blaine as a leader and Lo^an as second 
 
 o 
 
 in command, the Republican party will march 
 proudly forward, " keeping step to the music of 
 the Union," to a glorious triumph the triumph of 
 Union and Liberty, of the advancement of Ameri- 
 can Industry, of the Rights of all the People, of 
 the Honor, the Prosperity, and the Glory of the 
 Republic.
 
 THE 
 
 CITIZEN'S HANDBOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 VALUABLE FACTS FOR CAMPAIGN WORK.
 
 "In order to have any success in life, or any worthy 
 success, you must resolve to carry into your work a full- 
 ness of Knowledge not merely a Sufficiency, but more 
 than a Sufficiency." 
 
 James A. Garfield.
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 635 
 
 BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE PRESIDENTIAL 
 CONTESTS. 
 
 Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John 
 Quincy Adams, and Jackson were chosen to the Presidency 
 without the machinery of either State or National Conven- 
 tions for their nomination. 
 
 WASHINGTON was chosen by common consent and demand, 
 receiving the unanimous electoral vote, sixty-nine, ten States 
 only voting, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island 
 not having adopted the Constitution or framed election laws, 
 and four qualified delegates being absent. At his second 
 election he received all the votes but three, viz.: one hundred 
 and thirty-two out of one hundred and thirty-five, fifteen 
 States voting. In 1789, eleven other persons were voted for 
 on the same ballots with Washington, he who received the next 
 highest vote to be the Vice-President, as was the rule until 
 1 804. John Adams was thus chosen by thirty-four votes over 
 the following competitors : John Jay, R. H. Harrison, John 
 Rutledge, John Hancock, George Clinton, Samuel Hunt- 
 ingdon, John Milton, James Armstrong, Benjamin Lincoln, 
 and Edward Telfair. In 1792, John Adams was again chosen 
 Vice-President, by seventy-seven out of one hundred and 
 thirty-two votes, over George Clinton, Thomas Jefferson, and 
 Aaron Burr. Adams represented the Federalist or Adminis- 
 tration party of the day, the opposition being then known 
 as the Republican party. 
 
 ADAMS, having twice held the Vice-Presidency, was thought 
 to have a claim on the higher position, and in 1 796, sixteen 
 States voting, he received seventy- one electoral votes, Jeffer- 
 son receiving sixty-eight, and becoming Vice-President over 
 Thomas Pinckney, Aaron Burr, Samuel Adams, Oliver Ells- 
 worth, George Clinton, John Jay, James Iredell, George 
 Washington, John Henry, S. Johnson, and Charles C. Pinck- 
 ney, for each of whom from one to fifty -nine electoral votes
 
 636 
 
 rRKSIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 were cast. The successful candidates represented the two 
 parties of the day. In 1800, the parties in Congress each 
 held a caucus and each nominated its own candidates. 
 
 JEFFERSON was chosen President in 1800, on the thirty- 
 sixth ballot of the House of Representatives, he and Aaron 
 Burr having a tie vote of seventy-three in the Electoral Col- 
 lege, sixteen States voting. Burr then became Vice-President 
 over John Adams, Charles C. Pinckney, and John Jay, who 
 represented the Federalists. In 1803, the Constitution was 
 amended prescribing the present method of choosing the 
 nation's chief officers. After this for a long period the Re- 
 publican party and its successor, the Democratic party, had 
 things as they pleased. In 1804, Jefferson was re-elected 
 over Charles C. Pinckney by one hundred and sixty-two 
 votes to fourteen, George Clinton becoming Vice-President 
 over Rufus King. This was a result of the Congressional 
 caucus. Seventeen States voted. 
 
 MADISON, the nominee of the Republican caucus, received 
 one hundred and twenty-two electoral votes in 1808, seventeen 
 States voting, his opponent, Charles C. Pinckney, receiving but 
 fourteen, and George Clinton, another candidate, receiving 
 none. Clinton received one hundred and thirteen votes for the 
 Vice-Presidency, however, and was chosen over Rufus King, 
 John Langdon, James Madison, and James Monroe. 
 
 In 1812, Madison received one hundred and twenty-eight 
 electoral votes out of two hundred and eighteen, eighteen 
 States voting, De Witt Clinton receiving eighty-nine votes. 
 Elbridge Gerry was chosen to the second place by one hun- 
 dred and thirty-one votes, Jared Ingersoll receiving eighty-six. 
 
 MONROE was twice lifted into power by the caucus, receiv- 
 ing one hundred and eighty-three votes to thirty-four for 
 Rufus King, in 1816, and two hundred and thirty-one to one 
 only for John Quincy Adams, in 1820, nineteen States voting 
 in the first election and twenty-four in the second. D. D. 
 Tompkins received one hundred and eighty-three votes for
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS 
 
 637 
 
 Vice-President in 1816, and two hundred and eighteen in 
 1820, his competitors in the first race being JohnE. Howard, 
 James Ross, John Marshall, and Robert G. Harper, and in 
 the second Richard Stockton, Daniel Rodney, Robert G. Har- 
 per, and Richard Rush. At the end of Monroe's term parties 
 began to break up and new combinations to form under lead 
 of the State Legislatures, several of which brought out their 
 favorite sons. 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS was the Coalition nominee of Massa- 
 chusetts in 1824. Jackson was put forward by Tennessee, as 
 were William H. Crawford and Henry Clay by their respective 
 States; twenty-four States voted in this contest, having two hun- 
 dred and sixty-one electoral votes, of which Jackson received 
 ninety-nine, and Adams eighty-four, the remainder being 
 divided among the other two candidates. No choice being 
 made, the House of Representatives settled the contest, giving 
 Adams thirteen States, Jackson seven States, and Crawford 
 four States. Jackson's popular vote was one hundred and 
 fifty-five* thousand eight hundred and seventy-two ; that of 
 Adams, one hundred and five thousand three hundred and 
 twenty-one, while Crawford and Clay together polled ninety 
 thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine. A tempest of ill-feel- 
 ing was begotten by this decision. John C. Calhoun was chosen 
 Vice-President, however, receiving one hundred and eighty- 
 two votes, his opponents being Nathan Sanford, Nathaniel 
 Macon, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and Henry Clay. 
 
 JACKSON was so enraged by his defeat that he left the Senate 
 and threw all his tremendous energy into the campaign cf 
 1828, he being the leader of the newly formed Democ. .itic 
 party. Twenty-four States voted, with two hundred and 
 sixty- one electoral votes, of which Jackson secured one hun- 
 dred and seventy-eight, to eighty-three for Adams, and a 
 popular vote of six hundred and forty-seven thousand two 
 hundred and thirty-one, to five hundred and nine thousand 
 and ninety-seven for Adams. Calhoun again became Vice- 
 president by one hundred and seventy-one votes, Richard
 
 A^S PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 O 
 
 Rush and William Smith being his vanquished rivals. In 
 1832, Jackson again swept the board, receiving two hundred 
 and nineteen electoral votes and six hundred and eighty-seven 
 thousand two hundred and thirty-one popular votes, Henry 
 Clay, the National Republican candidate, receiving forty-nine 
 electoral votes, and five hundred and thirty thousand one 
 hundred and eighty-nine popular votes. John Floyd and 
 William Wirt received some thirty-three thousand votes from 
 the people and eighteen from the electors. Martin Van 
 Buren became Vice-President in Jackson's second term, re- 
 ceiving one hundred and eighty-nine votes, his competitors 
 being John Sergeant, Henry Lee, Amos Ellmaker, and 
 William Wilkins. 
 
 The Convention system was born under Jackson's Adminis- 
 tration. Its object was to prevent defeat by scattered votes 
 in the same party The anti-Masonic party held the first 
 gathering of the sort, William Wirt being its nominee. The 
 National Republicans followed in 1831, the Democrats in 
 1832. This machinery bore its first fruits in Jackson's* second 
 Presidential campaign. The Whig party made its first ap- 
 pearance in 1836, but its counsels were divided and it lost. 
 
 VAN BUREN was nominated by the Democrats, and in 1836, 
 twenty-six States voting, he received one hundred and seventy 
 electoral votes, four Whig candidates, William H. Harrison, 
 Hugh L. White, Daniel Webster, and W. P. Mangum divid- 
 ing among themselves eleven electoral votes. Van Buren 's 
 popular vote was seven hundred and sixty-one thousand five 
 hundred and forty-nine; that of all others, seven hundred 
 and thirty-six thousand six hundred and fifty-six. R. M. 
 Johnson, who received one hundred and seventy electoral 
 votes for Vice-President, not receiving a majority of all, was 
 elected by the Senate. His competitors were Francis 
 Granger, John Tyler, and William Smith. 
 
 HARRISON, in 1840, received a popular vote of one million 
 two hundred and seventy-five thousand and seventeen, and an 
 electoral vote of two hundred and thirty-four, as did John
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 639 
 
 Tyler, his associate on the Whig ticket. He was opposed by 
 Van Buren, who polled one million one hundred and twenty- 
 eight thousand seven hundred and two popular votes, and 
 sixty of the electoral college, and by James G. Birney, of the 
 Liberty or Abolition party, who polled seven thousand and 
 fifty-nine votes. R. M. Johnson, L. W. Tazewell, and James 
 K. Polk were candidates for the Vice-Presidency, receiving in 
 all sixty electoral votes. Twenty-six States voted. Harrison's 
 election was the first Whig success, and the campaign preced* 
 ing it has been aptly termed " the great national frolic." 
 
 POLK was chosen President in 1844 over Birney, the Abo- 
 litionist, and Clay, the Whig, receiving a popular vote of 
 one million three hundred and thirty-seven thousand two 
 hundred and forty-three, and an electoral vote of one hundred 
 and seventy, to Clay's one million two hundred and ninety- 
 nine thousand and sixty-eight popular and one hundred and 
 five electoral, Birney's vote being sixty-two thousand three 
 hundred popular and none -electoral. For Vice-President 
 George M. Dallas received the same electoral vote as Polk, 
 and Theodore Frelinghuysen the same as Clay. 
 
 TAYLOR was chosen by the Whigs in 1848, Clay and Web- 
 ster being abandoned. He and his associate, Millard Fill- 
 more, received each one hundred and sixty-three electoral 
 votes and a popular vote of one million three hundred and 
 sixty thousand .one hundred and one. Lewis Cass, the Demo- 
 cratic nominee, and Wm. O. Butler, his associate, were re- 
 garded as a weak combination, but they polled one million 
 two hundred and twenty thousand five hundred and forty-four 
 votes, with one hundred and twenty-seven electors. Van 
 Buren ran on the Free Soil ticket with Charles Francis Adams, 
 and received two hundred and ninety-one thousand two 
 hundred and sixty-three votes, thirty States voting. Taylor 
 died, and Fillmore quarreled with his party, thus impairing 
 its strength sadly. 
 
 PIERCE rode into power over the fragments of the Whig 
 party, he and his associate, William R. King, receiving two
 
 640 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 hundred and fifty-four electoral and one million six hundred 
 and one thousand four hundred and seventy-four popular 
 votes. Winfield Scott and William A. Graham, the Whig 
 nominees, received forty-two electoral and one million three 
 hundred and eighty-six thousand five hundred and seventy- 
 eight popular votes, John P. Hale and George W. Julian, 
 Free Democrats, polling one hundred and fifty-six thousand 
 one hundred and forty-nine suffrages. This contest ended 
 the Whig party. Thirty-one States voted. 
 
 BUCHANAN" was chosen in 1856 by one hundred and sev- 
 enty-four electoral votes, John C. Breckenridge being his 
 associate, they receiving a popular vote of one million eight 
 hundred and thirty-eight thousand one hundred and sixty- 
 nine, John C. Fremont and Wm. L. Dayton, nominees of the 
 newly-formed Republican party, receiving one hundred and 
 fourteen electoral and one million three hundred and forty- 
 one thousand two hundred and sixty-four popular votes, 
 while Millard Fillmore and A. J. Donelson, of the American 
 party, had eight electoral and eight hundred and seventy-four 
 thousand five hundred and thirty-four popular votes. This 
 was a most bitter campaign, saturated with- all the issues of 
 slavery, disunion, and border ruffianism. 
 
 LINCOLN was elected in 1860 by a popular vote of one 
 million eight hundred and sixty-six thousand three hundred 
 and fifty-two, and an electoral vote of one hundred and 
 eighty, Hannibal Hamlin being his associate. This was the 
 first victory for the Republicans. Democrats, Constitutional 
 Unionists, and Independent Democrats voted respectively 
 for Breckenridge and Lane, Bell and Everett, and Douglas 
 and Johnson, who received electoral votes as follows: 
 Breckenridge, seventy-two; Bell, thirty-nine; Douglas, 
 twelve ; and popular votes : Breckenridge, eight hundred 
 and forty-five thousand seven hundred and sixty-three ; Bell, 
 five hundred and eighty-nine thousand five hundred and 
 eighty-one; and Douglas, one million three hundred and 
 seventy-five thousand one hundred and fifty-seven. Thirty-
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. ^j 
 
 three States engaged in this contest, of which Lincoln carried 
 seventeen, Breckenridge eleven, Bell three, and Douglas 
 two. Lincoln's second election, Andrew Johnson being his 
 associate, was by two hundred and twelve electoral and two 
 million two hundred and sixteen thousand andsixty-seven pop- 
 ular votes, George B. McClellan and G. H. Pendleton receiv- 
 ing twenty-one electoral and one million eight hundred and 
 eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-five popular votes. 
 Eleven States and eighty-one electors were not represented 
 in this election. Of twenty-five voting States Lincoln carried 
 all but three. 
 
 GRANT was chosen in 1872 over Horatio Seymour by two 
 hundred and fourteen votes of the Electoral College to eighty, 
 twenty-three electors, three States, not represented. Schuyler 
 Colfax and Frank P Blair, Jr., were the respective Vice-Pres- 
 idential nominees. The popular vote was three million fifteen 
 thousand and seventy-one, for Grant, to two million seven 
 hundred and nine thousand six hundred and thirteen for Sey- 
 mour. At the election of 1872 Grant had a long line of com- 
 petitors, but he polled three million five hundred and ninety- 
 seven thousand and seventy popular votes, and two hundred 
 and eighty-six electoral out of a possible three hundred and 
 sixty-six. All the States voted. His competitors on various 
 tickets were Horace Greeley, Charles O' Conor, James Black, 
 Thos. A. Hendricks, Charles J. Jenkins, and David Davis. 
 Henry Wilson was chosen Vice-President, overB. Gratz Brown, 
 Geo. W. Julian, A. H. Colquitt, John M. Palmer, T. E. Bram- 
 lette, W. S. Groesbeck, Willis B. Machen, and N. P. Banks. 
 
 HAYES was elected, with his associate, Wm. A. Wheeler, in 
 a scattering contest. His popular vote was four million thirty- 
 three thousand nine hundred and fifty. Samuel J. Tilden, 
 (Democrat) received four million two hundred and eighty- 
 four thousand eight hundred and eighty-five votes. Peter 
 Cooper, (Greenback) eighty-one thousand seven hundred and 
 forty. Green Clay Smith (Prohibition), nine thousand five 
 hundred and twenty-two, and two thousand six hundred and
 
 642 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS. 
 
 thirty-six were scattering. T. A. Hendricks was Mr. Tilden's 
 associate. The disputed vote was settled by an Electoral Com- 
 mission which awarded Hayes one hundred and eighty-five 
 electoral votes and Tilden one hundred and eighty-four. 
 
 GARFIELD received, in 1880, a popular vote of four million 
 four hundred and forty-nine thousand and fifty-three, and an 
 electoral vote of two hundred and fourteen, together w\th 
 Chester A. Arthur, his associate. Winfield S. Hancock and 
 William H. English received four million four hundred and 
 forty-two thousand and thirty-five popular, and one hundred 
 and fifty-five electoral votes. The Greenback candidates, 
 James B. Weaver and B. J. Chambers, received three hundred 
 and seven thousand three hundred and six votes, and twelve 
 thousand five hundred and seventy-six were reported as scat- 
 tering. Thus the Republicans held the Presidency from Lin- 
 coln's election in 1860.
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. 
 
 643 
 
 TABLES OP PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. 
 
 &UMMAEY OF POFTT1AE ArfD EtECTOEAL VOTES FOE PEE8I- 
 DENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 1789- 
 1876. 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 o- 2 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 OS 
 o5 
 
 "o 
 
 d 
 
 X 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 2, 
 W 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 El 
 
 POLITICAL 
 PARTT. 
 
 * PRESIDENTS. 
 
 * VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 VOTE. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 1 
 I 
 
 States. 
 
 Popular. 
 
 Electoral 
 
 1789 
 
 1792 
 1796 
 
 1800 
 
 tio 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 73 
 
 135 
 
 138 
 
 138 
 
 
 George Washington 
 John Adams 
 
 
 
 fiq 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 34 
 9 
 6 
 6 
 4 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 4 
 
 
 John Jay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 R. H. Harrison 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Rutledge 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Hancock 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 George Clinton . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Samuel Huntingdon 
 John Milton 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 James Armstrong. . 
 Benjamin Lincoln.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Edward Telfair. .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Federalist. . 
 Federalist. . 
 Republican 
 
 Vacancies 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 George Washington 
 John Adams 
 
 
 
 13? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 77 
 50 
 4 
 1 
 3 
 
 George Clinton 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aaron Burr 
 
 
 
 
 
 Federalist. . 
 Republican 
 Federalist.. 
 Republican 
 
 Vacancies . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 John Adams 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. . 
 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 59 
 30 
 15 
 11 
 7 
 5 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 
 Thomas Pinckney.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aaron Burr 
 
 
 
 
 
 Samnel Adams 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Oliver Ellsworth .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 George Clinton 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 John Jay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 James Iredell . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 George Washington 
 John Henry 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S. Johnson 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charles C. Pinckney 
 Thomas Jefferson . 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican 
 Republican 
 Federalist.. 
 Federalist.. 
 
 
 
 |73 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *T3 
 65 
 64 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charles C. Pinckney 
 John Jay. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Previous to the election of 1804 each elector voted for two candidates for President ; the 
 one receiving the highest number of votes, if a majority, wai declared elected President ; 
 and the next mghest vice-President. 
 
 t Three States out of thirteen did not vote. viz. : New York, which had not passed an elec- 
 toral law ; and North Carolina and Rhode Island, which had not adopted the Constitution. 
 
 t There having been a tie vote, the choice devolved upon the House of Representative*. 
 A choice was made on th 36th ballot, which was as follow* : Jefferson Oeorgia, Kentucky, 
 Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, and 
 Virginia 10 States : Burr Connecticut, Massachusetts, New UuBipsilire, and. Rhode island. 
 ~4 Stotea j BlankDelaware and South Cwoliut-2 States.
 
 644 
 
 POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTES. 
 
 1 
 
 F 
 
 / 
 
 s 
 
 I 
 
 W 
 
 | 
 
 POLITICAL 
 PABTY. 
 
 PKKSIDBNTO. 
 
 VlCB-PHBMDKNT8. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 VOTB. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 Elect. Vote. 
 
 States. 
 
 Popular. 
 
 Electoral 
 
 1804 
 
 1808 
 
 1812 
 1816 
 
 1820 
 1824 
 
 1828 
 1832 
 
 1836 
 
 17 
 17 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 
 24 
 21 
 
 
 
 170 
 170 
 
 218 
 221 
 
 235 
 261 
 
 261 
 
 288 
 
 29! 
 
 Republican 
 Federalist. . 
 
 Republican 
 Federalist. . 
 
 Thomas Jefferson . . 
 
 r> 
 
 
 162 
 
 122 
 47 
 6 
 
 George Clinton. . 
 Rufus King 
 
 George Clinton. . 
 Rnfus King 
 John Langdon . . 
 James Madison. 
 James Monroe.. 
 
 162 
 14 
 
 us 
 
 47 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 3 
 1 
 
 131 
 88 
 1 
 
 183 
 
 ~5 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 218 
 8 
 4 
 1 
 1 
 3 
 
 182 
 30 
 24 
 13 
 9 
 S 
 1 
 
 171 
 
 '7 
 
 189 
 49 
 11 
 7 
 30 
 2 
 
 147 
 77 
 47 
 23 
 
 Charles C. Pinckney 
 James Madison. .. 
 
 2 
 
 1-.' 
 
 
 
 Charles C. Piuckney 
 George Clinton. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 Vacancy 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 James Madison 
 De Witt Clinton.... 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 
 128 
 89 
 1 
 
 Elbridge Gerry.. 
 Jared Ingersoll. . 
 
 Vacancy 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 Federalist. . 
 
 James Monroe 
 Rufus King 
 
 it; 
 
 
 188 
 34 
 
 D. D. Tompkin*. 
 John E. Howard 
 James Ross 
 John Marshall . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Robt. G. Harper. 
 
 Republican. 
 Opposition. 
 
 Vacancies 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 James Monroe 
 John Q. Adams 
 
 24 
 
 
 J31 
 1 
 
 D. D. Tompkins. 
 Rich. Stockton. . 
 Daniel Rodney. 
 Robt. G. Harper 
 Richard Rush... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 Coalition. . . 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 Vacancies .... 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 Andrew Jackson. . . 
 John O. Adams 
 Wm. H. Crawford. . 
 Henry Clay 
 
 10 
 8 
 3 
 3 
 
 155,872 
 105,821 
 44,282 
 46,587 
 
 *')!) 
 84 
 41 
 37 
 
 John C. Calhonn 
 Nathan Sanford . 
 Nathaniel Macon 
 Andrew Jackson 
 M. Van Buren... 
 Henry Clay 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Democratic 
 Nat. Repub. 
 
 l Vacancy 
 
 
 
 
 Andrew Jackson. . . 
 John Q. Adams 
 
 15 
 9 
 
 647,231 
 609,097 
 
 178 
 S3 
 
 John C. Calhoun 
 Richard Rush. .. 
 William Smith.. 
 
 M. Van Bnren. .. 
 John Sergeant. . . 
 Henry Lee 
 
 Democratic 
 Nat. Repub. 
 
 Andrew Jackson. . . 
 Henry Clay 
 
 ir. 
 7 
 
 l 
 l 
 
 687,502 
 630,189 
 
 33,108 
 
 219 
 49 
 11 
 7 
 
 John Floyd ... 1 
 
 Anti-Mason 
 
 William Wirt.... ) 
 
 Amos Ellmaker. 
 William Wilkini 
 
 Democratic. 
 
 Whig ; 
 
 Whig... 
 
 Vacancies 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Martin Van Buren . 
 Wm. H. Harrison 1 
 Hugh L. White.. 1 
 Daniel Webster., [ 
 W. P. Mangum... j 
 
 ir 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 761,549 
 736,656 
 
 170 
 73 
 2ti 
 14 
 11 
 
 R. M. Johnsont. 
 Francis Granger. 
 John Tyler 
 William Smith.. 
 
 Whig 
 
 Whig 
 
 
 
 
 No choice having been made by the Electoral College, the choice devolved upon the 
 House of Representatives. A choice wai made on the first ballot, which was ua follows : 
 Adams Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts Mis- 
 souri, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont 18 States Jackson- 
 Alabama, IndidHa, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. South Carolina, and Tennessee 
 7 States ; Crawford Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia* States. 
 
 t No candidate having received a nialority of the votes of the Electeral College, the oen- 
 u clouted K. M, Joimsoi) Vice-PreiiiMii, who recwv*U33voU; FrauewUwugcr retired 1C.
 
 POPULAR AND ELECTORAL VOTES. 
 
 645 
 
 1 
 
 r 
 
 S 
 55 
 
 "5 
 
 o 
 
 fc 
 
 E 
 1 
 
 EH 
 
 POLTTTCAL 
 PAKTT. 
 
 PRESIDENTS. 
 
 VIOE-PKBSIDBNTS. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 VOTE. 
 
 CANDIDATES. 
 
 1 
 
 ~t 
 
 234 
 
 -IS 
 
 'ii 
 
 i 
 
 170 
 
 105 
 
 t 
 
 a 
 
 Popular. 
 
 "3 
 
 i 
 
 1840 
 
 1844 
 1848 
 1852 
 1856 
 1860 
 
 1864 
 1868 
 1872 
 
 1876 
 188 
 
 26 
 
 26 
 30 
 31 
 31 
 33 
 
 *36 
 
 t37 
 
 37 
 
 38 
 
 )| 3f 
 
 294 
 
 275 
 
 290 
 296 
 296 
 303 
 
 314 
 317 
 366 
 
 369 
 
 36C 
 
 Whig 
 Democratic 
 Liberty 
 
 Wm. H. Harrison . . 
 Martin Van Buren. 
 James G. Birney... 
 
 19 
 7 
 
 1,275,017 
 1,128,702 
 7,059 
 
 234 
 CO 
 
 John Tyler 
 R. M. Johnson . . 
 
 L. W. "Tazeweli. 
 James K. Polk.. 
 
 Geo. M. Dallas.. 
 T. Frelinghuysen 
 
 Democratic 
 Whig 
 
 James K. Polk 
 Henry Clay 
 
 15 
 11 
 
 1,337,243 
 1,299,068 
 62,300 
 
 1,360,101 
 1,220,544 
 291,263 
 
 1,601,474 
 1,386,578 
 156,149 
 
 1.838.169 
 1,341,264 
 874,534 
 
 1,866,352 
 845.763 
 589,581 
 1,375,157 
 
 2,216,067 
 1,808,725 
 
 170 
 105 
 
 Liberty 
 Whig 
 
 James G. Birney. . . 
 
 Zachary Taylor 
 Lewis Cass 
 
 15 
 15 
 
 27 
 4 
 
 163 
 
 127 
 
 254 
 42 
 
 174 
 114 
 
 180 
 72 
 39 
 12 
 
 212 
 21 
 81 
 
 Millard Fillmore 
 Wm. O. Butler. . 
 
 Chas. F. Adams. 
 
 Wm. R. King... 
 Wm. A. Graham 
 Geo. W.Julian.. 
 
 J. C. Breckinr'ge 
 Wm. L.Dayton. 
 A. J. Douelson. . 
 
 Hannibal Hamlin 
 Joseph Lane 
 Edward Everett. 
 H. V. Johnson.. 
 
 Andrew Johnson 
 G. H. Pendleton. 
 
 16f 
 127 
 
 354 
 42 
 
 174 
 114 
 8 
 
 180 
 72 
 39 
 13 
 
 212 
 21 
 
 81 
 
 214 
 80 
 23 
 
 286 
 47 
 5 
 5 
 3 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 185 
 
 184 
 
 Democratic 
 Free Soil... 
 
 Democratic 
 Whig 
 
 Martin Van Buren. . 
 
 Franklin Pierce 
 Winfleld Scott 
 John P. Hale 
 
 
 Democratic 
 Republican. 
 American . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democratic. 
 Cons. Union 
 Ind. Dem. . . 
 
 Republican. 
 Democratic 
 
 Republican. 
 Democratic. 
 
 Republican. 
 Dem. & Lib. 
 Democratic. 
 Temp'rance 
 
 James Buchanan. . . 
 John C. Fremont.. 
 Mil lard Fillmore. . . 
 
 Abraham Lincoln.. 
 J. C. Breckinridge. . 
 John Bell 
 
 19 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 11 
 3 
 2 
 
 22 
 3 
 11 
 
 S. A. Douglas 
 
 Abraham Lincoln.. 
 Geo. B. McClellan. . 
 Vacancies 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant. . . 
 Horatio Seymour . . 
 Vacancies 
 
 26 
 
 8 
 
 o 
 
 3,015,071 
 2,709,613 
 
 214!'schuyler Colfax. 
 80 F. P. Blair, Jr... 
 23 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant... 
 Horace Greeley.... 
 Charles O'Couor. . . 
 James Black 
 Thos. A. Hendricks 
 
 34 
 6 
 
 3,597,070 
 2,834,079 
 29,408 
 5,608 
 
 28 
 
 '42 
 
 18 
 2 
 
 -J 
 
 Henry Wilson. . . 
 B. Gratz Brown . 
 Geo. W. Julian.. 
 iA. H. Colquitt... 
 John M. Palmer. 
 T. E. Bramlette. 
 ;W. S. Groesbeek 
 Willis B.Machen 
 N. P. Banks 
 
 
 B. Gratz Brown 
 
 
 
 
 Charles J. Jenkins. 
 David Davis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 Democratic. 
 Greenback.. 
 Prohibition 
 
 j Not Counted. . . 
 
 
 
 Rutherford B.Hayes 
 Samuel J.Tilden... 
 Peter Cooper 
 
 21 
 17 
 
 4,033,950 
 4,284,885 
 81,740 
 
 185 
 184 
 
 Wm. A. Wheeler 
 T. A. Hendricks 
 
 Green Clay Smith.. 
 Scattering 
 
 
 
 9,522 
 2,636 
 
 4,449.053 
 4,442,035 
 307.306 
 12,576 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 KepuDflcan 
 Democratic 
 [Greenback. 
 
 .James A. Garfleld... 
 Winneld S.Hancock 
 James B. Weaver... 
 . Scattering _.. 
 
 19 
 19 
 
 214 
 155 
 
 Chester A. Arthur 
 Wm. H. English. 
 B. J. Chambers.. 
 
 21* 
 
 155 
 
 * Eleven States did not vote, viz.: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mis 
 iasippi. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. 
 
 t Three States did not vote, viz.: Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia. 
 
 t Three electoral votes of Georgia cast for Horace Oreelay, and the votes ef Arkansas, 
 and Louisiana, 8, cast for U. S. Grant, were rejected. If all had been included in thecount 
 the ele*al ?ot would have bea 300 for U. 8, Grant, and, W for opposing casdid*tfcs.
 
 46 NATIONAL ELECTIONS. 
 
 THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 
 
 The Presidential election will take place on Tuesday, 
 November 4th, 1884. The Constitution prescribes that each 
 State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof 
 may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number 
 of Senators and Repre^ntatives to which the State may be 
 entitled in Congress, ^rer the election this year the electors 
 by States will be as follows : 
 
 States. Electoral States. Electoral 
 
 Vote. Vote. 
 
 Alabama 10 Missouri 16 
 
 Arkansas 7 Nebraska 5 
 
 California 8 Nevada ... 3 
 
 Colorado 3 New Hampshire 4 
 
 Connecticut 6 New Jersey 9 
 
 Delaware 3 New York 36 
 
 Florida . 4 North Carolina n 
 
 Georgia 12 Ohio 23 
 
 Illinois 22 Oregon 3 
 
 Indiana 15 Pennsylvania 30 
 
 Iowa 13 Rhode Island 4 
 
 Kansas 9 South Carolina 9 
 
 Kentucky 13 Tennessee 12 
 
 Louisiana 8 Texas 13 
 
 Maine 6 Vermont 4 
 
 Maryland 8 Virginia.. 12 
 
 Massachusetts 14 West Virginia 6 
 
 Michigan 13 Wisconsin n 
 
 Minnesota 7) 
 
 Mississippi 9 Total 401 
 
 Necessary to a choice, 201. 
 
 No Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of 
 profit or trust under the United States, shall be an elector. 
 In all the States, the laws thereof direct that the people shall 
 choose the electors. The Constitution declares that the day 
 when electors are chosen shall be the same throughout the 
 United States. The electors shall meet in their respective 
 States on the first Wednesday in December, and vote by ballot 
 for President and Vice-President, one of whom at least shall 
 not be an inhabitant of the same State as themselves.
 
 QUALIFICATIONS FOR VOTERS. 
 QUALIFICATIONS FOR VOTERS. 
 
 647 
 
 STATES. 
 
 g 
 
 < 
 
 Requirement 
 as to 
 Citizenship. 
 
 Residence 
 in 
 
 > 
 Registration. 
 
 rt 
 C/2 
 
 & 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 o 
 U 
 
 Alabama 
 Arkansas 
 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 
 21 
 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 21 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens.. 
 
 I yr. 
 I yr. 
 I yr. 
 6 mo 
 iyr. 
 I yr. 
 
 I yr. 
 
 I yr. 
 I yr. 
 6 mo 
 6 mo 
 6 mo 
 2yrs 
 iyr. 
 3 mo 
 I yr. 
 I vr. 
 
 3 mo 
 6 mo 
 9ods 
 
 No law. 
 Prohibited. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Not required. 
 
 Required. 
 
 No law. 
 Required. 
 No law. 
 Required. 
 Req'd in cities 
 Not required. 
 No law. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Req'd in cities 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Req'd in cities 
 Req'd in cities 
 Required. 
 Not required. 
 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Not required. 
 Prohibited. 
 Required. 
 Required. 
 Prohibited. 
 Required. 
 
 California .... 
 Colorado 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Connecticut... 
 Delaware ; 
 
 Florida 
 Georgia 
 
 6mo 
 I mo 
 
 6 mo 
 
 6 mo 
 gods 
 oods 
 6ods 
 
 iyr. 
 6 mo 
 
 6 mo 
 
 Actual County taxpayers 
 f United States citizens or "1 
 \ declared intention / 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Indiana.. . . 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Iowa 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Free white male citizens.. 
 
 Kentucky 
 Louisiana 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 Actual citizens.. . 
 
 Maine 
 
 Maryland 
 Massachusetts. 
 Michigan 
 
 Citizens 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens. 
 
 3 mo 
 4mo 
 6 mo 
 
 6 mo 
 6 mo 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 Mississippi. ... 
 Missouri. 
 
 I mo 
 
 6ods 
 
 3ods 
 5 mo 
 4 mo 
 gods 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 Nevada.. 
 
 N. Hampshire 
 New Jersey... 
 New York 
 N. Carolina... 
 Ohio 
 
 Actual citizens . ... 
 
 yr. 
 yr. 
 
 yr. 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 vr. 
 
 
 Oregon... 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 Actual tax-paying citizens 
 Actual citizens 
 
 mo 
 
 yr. 
 yr- 
 yr- 
 yr. 
 yr- 
 
 vr. 
 
 6ods 
 6 mo 
 6 mo 
 
 Pennsylvania . 
 Rhode Island 
 S. Carolina 
 Tennessee 
 Texas 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 Actual citizens 
 
 Vermont 
 Virginia 
 W.Virginia... 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Actual citizens vr. 
 
 
 Actual citizens 
 
 yr. 
 yr. 
 
 6ods 
 
 Citizens or declared intention. 
 
 NOTE. In several States women are permitted to vote on the school questions, seleo 
 tion of directors, etc.
 
 648 
 
 IfOMES OF THE PR 'KS/r>E.\'TS. 
 
 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 Presi- 
 dential 
 Term. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Qualified. 
 
 Born. 
 
 Died. 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 ii 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 g 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 22 
 23 
 24 
 
 George Washington.. 
 George Washington.. 
 John Adams 
 
 April 30, 1789 
 March 4, 1793 
 March 4, 1797 
 March 4, 1801 
 March 4, 1805 
 March 4, 1809 
 March 4, 1813 
 March 4, 1817 
 March 5, 1821 
 March 4, 1825 
 March 4, 1829 
 March 4, 1833 
 March 4, 1837 
 March 4, 1841 
 April 6, 1841 
 March 4, 1845 
 March 5, 1849 
 July 9, 1850 
 March 4, 1853 
 March 4, 1857 
 March 4, 1861 
 March 4, 1865 
 .April 15, 1865 
 March 4, 1869 
 March 4, 1873 
 March 5, 1877 
 March 4, 1881 
 Sept'r 20, 1 88 1 
 
 Feb. 22, 1732 
 Oct. 19 1735, 
 April 2, 1743 
 
 March 5, 1751 
 
 April 28, 1758 
 July II, 1767 
 Mar. 15, 1767 
 
 Dec. 5, 1782 
 Feb. 9, 1773 
 Mar. 29, 1790 
 Nov. 2, 1795 
 Nov. 24, 1 784 
 fan. 7, 1800 
 Nov. 23, 1804 
 April 22, 1791 
 
 Feb. 12, 1809 
 Dec. 29, 1808 
 April 27, 1822 
 
 Oct. 4, 1822 
 Nov. 19, 1831 
 Oct. 5, 1830 
 
 Dec. 14, 1799 
 July 4, 1826 
 July 4, 1826 
 
 fune 28, 1836 
 
 July 4, 1831 
 Feb. 23, 1848 
 June 8, I 45 
 
 July 24, 1862 
 April 4, 1841 
 Jan. 17, 1862 
 June 15, 1849 
 July 9, 1850 
 
 Oct. 8 1869 
 June I, 1868 
 
 April 15, 1865 
 July 30,1875 
 
 Sept. 19, 1 88 1 
 
 Thomas Jefferson .^ 
 Thomas Jefferson. .... 
 fames Madison 
 
 James Madison 
 
 James Monroe 
 Tames Monroe ... 
 
 John Quincy Adams. 
 Andrew Jackson 
 
 Andrew Jackson 
 Martin Van Buren... 
 Wm. H. -Harrison.* 
 John Tyler 
 
 fames K. Polk.. 
 
 Zachary Taylor* 
 
 Millard Fillmore 
 Franklin Pierce 
 James Buchanan ... . 
 
 Abraham Lincoln 
 Abraham Lincoln *.. 
 Andrew Johnson 
 Ulysses S. Grant . ... 
 Ulysses S. Grant 
 Rutherford B. Hayes 
 James A. Garfield* . . . 
 Chester A. Arthur 
 
 Total number of incumbents, 21. 
 
 Died in office. 
 
 HOMES OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 
 Native State. 
 
 Whence Elected. 
 
 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 Madison 
 
 
 
 Monroe 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Jackson 
 
 
 Tcnn^s-ee. 
 
 inn Buren New York ;New York. 
 
 Harrison Virginia Ohio. 
 
 [Virginia. 
 
 North Carolina .Tennessee. 
 
 Tyler.. 
 
 Polk 
 
 Taylor Virgin! i Louisiana. 
 
 Fillmore ^. New York New York. , 
 
 Pierce New Hampshire... New Hampshire. 
 
 Buchanan. _ Pennsylvania Pennsylvania. 
 
 Lincoln ' Kentucky Illinois. 
 
 Johnson North Carolina Tennessee. 
 
 Grant Ohio _ Illinois. 
 
 Hayes Ohio. 
 
 Garfield , " .. , " 
 
 Arthur >J.-, V4, M^ur Vorlc
 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Vice- 
 Fres. 
 Term. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Qualified. 
 
 Born. 
 
 Died. 
 
 I 
 
 John Adams 
 
 June 1, 1780 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 John Adams 
 
 Dec. 2, 1 7Q7 f 
 
 1735 
 
 1826 
 
 7 
 
 
 March 4, 1 797 
 
 1747 
 
 1826 
 
 A 
 
 
 March 4, 1801 
 
 17^6 
 
 1836 
 
 C 
 
 George Clinton 
 
 March 4, 1805 ~t 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 George Clinton* 
 
 March 4, 1800 | 
 
 r 739 
 
 1812 
 
 
 William H. Crawfordf 
 
 April 10, 1812 
 
 1772 
 
 1874 
 
 7 
 
 Elbridge Gerry* 
 
 March 4, 1813 
 
 1744. 
 
 1814 
 
 
 John Gaillard* 
 
 Nov. 25, 1814 
 
 
 8->A 
 
 8 
 
 Daniel D. Tompkins 
 
 March 4, 1817 "1 
 
 
 
 q 
 
 Daniel D. Tompkins 
 
 March 5, 1821 J 
 
 1744 
 
 1825 
 
 lo 
 
 John C. Calhoun 
 
 March 4, 1825 "1 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 John C CalhounJ 
 
 March 4, 1829 / 
 
 1782 
 
 1850 
 
 
 Hugh L. Whitef 
 
 Dec. 28, 1832 
 
 1777 
 
 1840 
 
 12 
 
 Martin VanBuren 
 
 March 4, 1833 
 
 1782 
 
 1862 
 
 13 
 
 Richard M. Johnson 
 
 March 4, 1877 
 
 1780 
 
 iSso 
 
 14 
 
 John Tyler 
 
 March 4, 1841 
 
 I7QO 
 
 1862 
 
 
 Samuel L. Southard j~ .. 
 
 April 6, 1841 
 
 1787 
 
 1 84^ 
 
 
 Willie P. Mangumj- 
 
 May 31, 1842 
 
 I7Q2 
 
 1861 
 
 15 
 
 George M. Dallas 
 
 March 4, 1845 
 
 I7Q2 
 
 1864 
 
 16 
 
 Millard Fillmore? 
 
 March 5, 1849 
 
 I800 
 
 1869 
 
 
 William R. Kingf 
 
 July II. 1 8 so "I 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 William R. King* 
 
 March 4, 1853 / 
 
 1786 
 
 1853 
 
 
 David R. Atchison-j- 
 
 April 18. 1853 
 
 1807 
 
 
 
 Jesse D. Bright t. . . 
 
 Dec. 5, 1854 
 
 1812 
 
 
 78 
 
 John C. Breckenridge 
 
 March 4, 1857 
 
 1821 
 
 i87C 
 
 19 
 
 Hannibal Hatnlin 
 
 March 4, 1861 
 
 1809 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 March 4, 1865 
 
 1808 
 
 1875 
 
 
 Lafayette S. Fosterf 
 
 April 15, 1865 
 
 1806 
 
 
 
 Benjamin F. Wadef 
 
 March 2, 1867 
 
 1800 
 
 
 21 
 
 Schuyler Colfax 
 
 March 4, 1869 
 
 1823 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 March 4, 1873 
 
 1812 
 
 1875 
 
 
 Thomas W. Ferry! 
 
 Nov. 22, 1875 
 
 1827 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 March 5, 1877 
 
 1819 
 
 
 24 
 
 Chester A. Arthur $. 
 
 March 4, 1881 
 
 1830 
 
 
 
 David Davis f. ... 
 
 Oct. 13, 1881 
 
 1815 
 
 
 
 George F. Edmunds! 
 
 March 3, 1883 
 
 1828 
 
 
 * Died in office, f Acting Vice-President and President pro tew, of the Senate. 
 \ Resigned the Vice-Presidency. (S Became President. 
 
 CABINETS OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON: April 30, 1789 March 4, 1797 (two terms). 
 
 Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson, appointed Sept. 26, 1789 
 
 '' " Edmund Randolph, " Jan. 2, 1794 
 
 " " Timothy Pickering, " Dec. 10, 1795
 
 650 
 
 CAB1XETS OF THE 
 
 Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton, 
 
 appointed Sept. II, 1789 
 
 " " ' Oliver Wolcott, 
 
 " Feb. 2, 1795 
 
 War: Henry Knox, 
 
 " Sept. 12, 1789 
 
 " Timothy Pickering, 
 
 Jan. 2, 1795 
 
 " " James McHenry, 
 
 " Jan. 27, 1796 
 
 Postmaster -General; Samuel Osgood, 
 
 " Sept. 26, 1789 
 
 " " Timothy Pickering, 
 
 " Aug. 12, 1791 
 
 " " Joseph Habersham, 
 
 " Feb. 25, 1795 
 
 Attorney- General: Edmund Randolph, 
 
 " Sept. 26, 1789 
 
 " " William Bradford, 
 
 Jan. 27, 1794 
 
 " " Charles Lee, 
 
 " Dec. 10, 1795 
 
 JOHN ADAMS: March 4, 1797 March 4, 1801 
 
 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of State : Timothy Pickering, 
 
 appointed March 4, 1797 
 
 " John Marshall, 
 
 " May 13, 1800 
 
 " Treasury: Oliver Wolcott, 
 
 " March 4, 1797 
 
 " " Samuel Dexter, 
 
 " Jan. I, 1 80 1 
 
 " War: James McHenry, 
 
 ' March 4, 1797 
 
 ' " Samuel Dexter, 
 
 ' May 13, 1800 
 
 " Rodger Griswold, 
 
 ' Feb. 3, 1801 
 
 " Navy: Benjamin Stoddart, 
 
 ' May 21, 1798 
 
 Postmaster-General: Joseph Habersham, 
 
 ' March 4, 1 797 
 
 Attorney -General: Charles Lee, 
 
 " March 4, 1797 
 
 " " Theophilus Parsons, 
 
 " Feb. 20, 1801 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON: March 4, 1801 March t 
 
 ,, 1809 (two tejrms). 
 
 Secretary of State : James Madison, 
 
 appointed March 5, 1801 
 
 Treasury: Albert Gallatin, 
 
 " May 14, 1801 
 
 " War: Henry Dearborn, 
 
 " March 5, 1801 
 
 " Navy: Benjamin Stoddert, 
 
 March 4, 1801 
 
 '* " Robert Smith, 
 
 July 15, 1801 
 
 '* " J. Crowninshield, 
 
 March 3, 1805 
 
 Postmaster- General : Joseph Habersham, 
 
 March 4, iSoi 
 
 " " Gideon Granger, 
 
 Nov. 28, 1801 
 
 Attorney- General: Levi Lincoln, 
 
 March 5, 1801 
 
 " " Robert Smith, 
 
 March 3, 1805 
 
 " John Breckinridge, 
 
 Aug. 7, 1805 
 
 " " Caesar A. Rodney, 
 
 Jan. 28, 1807 
 
 JAMES MADISON; March 4, 1809 March 4, iJ 
 
 ^17 (two terms). 
 
 Secretary of State : Robert Smith, 
 
 appo nted March 6, 1809 
 
 " James Monroe, 
 
 April 2, 1811 
 
 Treasury: Albert Gallatin, 
 
 ' March 4, 1809 
 
 " George W. Campbell, 
 
 Feb. 9, 1814 
 
 " " Alexander J. Dallas, 
 
 Oct. 6, 1814 
 
 " " William H. Crawford, 
 
 Oct. 22, 1816 
 
 War: William Eustis, 
 
 March 7, 1809 
 
 " John Armstrong, 
 
 Jan. 13, 1813 
 
 " " James Monroe, 
 
 Sept. 27, 1814 
 
 William H. Crawford, 
 
 Aug. I, 1815 
 
 " Navy: Paul Hamilton, 
 
 March 7, 1809 
 
 " " William Jones, 
 
 Jan. 12, 1813 
 
 " " B. W. Crowninskield, 
 
 Dec. 19, 1814
 
 CABINETS OF THE PRESIDENTS, 
 
 651 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 
 Gideon Granger, appointed March 4, iSc*| 
 
 " " 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Jr., " March 17, 1814 
 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 Caesar A, Rodney, " March 4, 1809 
 
 
 
 William Pinkney, " Dec. II, 1811 
 
 
 
 Richard Rush, " Feb. 10, 1814 
 
 JAMES MONROE: March 4, 1817 March 4, 1825 (two terms). 
 
 Secretary of State: 
 
 John Quincy Adams, appointed March 5, 1817 
 
 " Treasury 
 
 William II. Crawford, " March 5, 1817 
 
 War : 
 
 George Graham, " ad interim. 
 
 " " 
 
 John C. Calhoun, 
 
 Oct. 8, 1817 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 B. W. Crowninshield, 
 
 March 4, 1817 
 
 
 
 Smith Thompson, 
 
 Nov. 9, 1818 
 
 
 
 Samuel L. Southard, 
 
 Sept. 16, 1823 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 
 Return J. Meigs, Jr., 
 
 March 4, 1817 
 
 << 
 
 John McLean, 
 
 June 26, 1823 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 Richard Rush, 
 
 March 4, 1817 
 
 " " 
 
 William Wirt, 
 
 Nov. 13, 1817 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 
 
 : March 4, 1825 March 4, 
 
 829 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of Slate : 
 
 Henry Clay, app 
 
 nted March 7, 1825 
 
 " Treasury . 
 
 Richard Rush, 
 
 March 7, 1825 
 
 War: 
 
 James Barbour, 
 
 March 7, 1825 
 
 " " 
 
 Peter B. Porter, 
 
 May 26, 1828 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 Samuel L. Southard, 
 
 March 4, 1825 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 
 John McLean, 
 
 March 4, 1825 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 William Wirt, 
 
 March 4, 1825 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON: March 4, 1829 March 4, 183 
 
 (two terms). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 Martin Van Buren, appo 
 
 nted March 6, 1829 
 
 " " 
 
 Edward Livingston, 
 
 May 24, 1831 
 
 
 
 Louis McLane, 
 
 May 29, 1833 
 
 << 
 
 John Forsyth, 
 
 June 27, 1834 
 
 " Treasury . 
 
 Samuel D. Ingham, 
 
 March 6, 1829 
 
 
 
 Louis McLane, 
 
 Aug. 2, 1831 
 
 
 
 William J. Duane, 
 
 May 29, 1833 
 
 . 
 
 Roger B. Taney, 
 
 Sept. 23, 1833 
 
 
 
 Levi Woodbury, 
 
 June 27, 1834 
 
 War: 
 
 John H. Eaton, 
 
 March 9, 1829 
 
 
 
 Lewis Cass, 
 
 Aug. I, 1831 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 John Branch, 
 
 March 9, 1829 
 
 11 
 
 Levi Woodbury, 
 
 May 23, 1831 
 
 " " 
 
 Mahlon Dickerson, 
 
 June 30, 1834 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 
 William T. Barry, 
 
 March 9, 1829 
 
 
 
 Amos Kendall, 
 
 May I, 1835 
 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 John M. Berrien, 
 
 March 9, 1829 
 
 
 
 Roger B. Taney, 
 
 July 20, 1831 
 
 " " 
 
 Benjamin F. Butler, Nov. 15, 1833 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN : 
 
 March 4, 1837 March 4, 1841 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 John Forsyth, appointed March 4, 1837 
 
 " Treasury 
 
 Levi Woodbury, " March 4. 1837 
 
 War: 
 
 Joel R. Poinsett, " March 7, 1837
 
 652 
 
 OABINETS OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Secretary of Navy : 
 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 Mahlon Dickerson, 
 James K. Paulding, 
 Amos Kendal, 
 John M. Niles, 
 Benjamin F. Butler, 
 Felix Grundy, 
 Henry D. Gilpin, 
 
 appointed March 4, 1837 
 
 " June 25, 1838 
 
 " March 4, 1837 
 
 " May 25, 1840 
 
 " March 4, 1837 
 
 " July 5, 1838 
 
 " Jan. n, 1840 
 
 WILLIAM H. HARRISON: March 4, 1841 April 6, 1841 (partial term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 " Treasury 
 
 War: 
 
 " Navy: 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 Daniel Webster, 
 Thomas Ewing, 
 John Bell, 
 George E. Badger, 
 Francis Granger, 
 John J. Crittenden, 
 
 appointed March 5, 1841 
 " March 5, 1841 
 March 5, 1841 
 March 5, 1841 
 March 6, 1841 
 March 5, 1841 
 
 JOHN TYLER : April 6, 1841 March 4, 1845 (partial term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 Treasury 
 
 War: 
 
 Navy 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 Daniel Webster, 
 Hugh S. Legare, 
 Abel P. Upshur, 
 John C. Calhoun, 
 Thomas Ewing, 
 Walter Forward, 
 John C. Spencer, 
 George M. Bibb, 
 John Bell, 
 John C. Spencer, 
 James M. Porter, 
 William Wilkins, 
 George E. Badger, 
 Abel P. Upshur, 
 David Henshaw, 
 Thomas W. Gilmer, 
 John Y. Mason, 
 Francis Granger, 
 Charles A. Wickliffe, 
 John J. Crittenden, 
 Hugh S. Legare, 
 John Nelson, 
 
 appointed April 6, 1841 
 May 9, 1843 
 July 24, 1843 
 " March 6, 1844 
 " April 6, 1841 
 
 " Sept. 13, 1841 
 " March 3, 1843 
 " June 15, 1844 
 " April 6, 1841 
 
 " Oct. 12, 1841 
 
 " March 8, 1843 
 June 15, 1844 
 April 6, 1841 
 Sept. 13, 1841 
 July 24, 1843 
 Feb. 15, 1844 
 March 14, 1844 
 April 6, 1841 
 Sept. 13, 1841 
 April 6, 1841 
 Sept. 13, 1841 
 July I, 1843 
 
 JAMES K. POLK: March 4, 1845 March 5, 1849 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 Treasury . 
 War: 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 James Buchanan, 
 Robert J. Walker, 
 William L. Marcy, 
 George Bancroft, 
 John Y. Mason, 
 Cave Johnson, 
 John Y. Mason, 
 Nathan Clifford, 
 Isaac Toucey, 
 
 appointed March 6, 1845 
 
 " March 6, 1845 
 
 " March 6, 1845 
 
 " March 10, 1845 
 
 " Sept. 9, 1846 
 
 . March 6, 1845 
 
 " March 6, 1845 
 
 " Oct. 17, 1846 
 
 " June 21, 1848
 
 CABINETS OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR : March 5, 1849 J ul y 9 1850 (partial term). 
 
 653 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 " Treasury . 
 
 " War : 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 '' Interior : 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 MlLLARD FlLLMORE: 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 " Treasury 
 
 War : 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 
 
 " Interior : 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 John M. Clayton, 
 William M. Meredith, 
 George W. Crawford, 
 William B. Preston, 
 Thomas Ewing, 
 Jacob Collamer, 
 Reverdy Johnson, 
 
 July 9, 1850 March 4, 
 
 Daniel Webster, 
 Edward Everett, 
 Thomas Corwin, 
 Charles M. Conrad, 
 William A. Graham, 
 John P. Kennedy, 
 Alex. H. H. Stuart, 
 Nathan K. Hall, 
 Samuel D. Hubbard, 
 John J. Crittenden, 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE: March 4, 1853 March 4, 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 " Treasury 
 
 War: 
 
 " Navy: 
 
 " Interior: 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 William L. Marcy, 
 James Guthrie, 
 Jefferson.Davis, 
 James C. Dobbin, 
 Robert McClelland, 
 James Campbell, 
 Caleb Gushing, 
 
 appointed March 7, 1849 
 " March 8, 1849 
 March 8, 1849 
 " March 8, 1849 
 " March 8, 1849 
 " March 8, 1849 
 " March 8, 1849 
 
 1853 (partial term). 
 
 rppointed July 22, 1850 
 " Nov. 6, 1852 
 
 " July 23, 1850 
 Aug. 15, 1850 
 " July 22, 1850 
 July 22, 1852 
 Sept. 12, 1850 
 July 23, 1850 
 Aug. 31, 1852 
 July 22, 1850 
 
 18^7 (one term). 
 
 appointed March 7, 1853 
 March 7, 1853 
 March 5, 1853 
 March 7, 1853 
 March 7, 1853 
 March 5, 1853 
 March 7, 1853 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN: March 4, 1857 March 4, 1861 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 " War: 
 
 
 
 " Navy: 
 
 " Interior: 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 
 Attorney- General: 
 
 Lewis Cass, 
 Jeremiah S. Black, 
 Treasury: Howell Cobb, 
 ". Philip F. Thomas, 
 
 John A. Dix, 
 John B. Floyd, 
 Joseph Holt, 
 Isaac Toucey, 
 Jacob Thompson, 
 Aaron V. Brown, 
 Joseph Holt, 
 Horatio King, 
 Jeremiah S. Black, 
 Edwin M. Stanton, 
 
 appointed March 6, 1857 
 
 Dec. 17, 1860 
 March 6, 1857 
 Dec. 12, 1860 
 
 Jan. II, 1861 
 March 6, 1857 
 
 Jan. 1 8, 1 86 1 
 March 6, 1857 
 March 6, 1857 
 March 6, 1857 
 March 14, 1859 
 
 Feb. 12, 1 86 1 
 March 6, 1857 
 
 Dec. 20, 1860 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN : March 4, 1861 April 15, 1865 (one term and a 
 
 part). 
 
 Secretary of State : William H. Seward, appointed March 5, 1861 
 
 " ' Treasury: Salmon P. Chase, " March 7, 1861
 
 654 
 
 CABINETS OF THE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Secretary of Treasury : William P. Fessenden, 
 Hugh McCulloch, 
 Simon Cameron, 
 Edwin M. Stanton, 
 Gideon Welles, 
 Caleb B. Smith, 
 John P. Usher, 
 Montgomery Blair, 
 William Dennison, 
 Edward Bates, 
 Titian J. Coflfey, ad int., 
 '' " James Speed, 
 
 ANDREW JOHNSON: April 15, 1865 March 4, 1869 
 
 War: 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 " Interior: 
 
 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 << 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 appointed July I, 1864 
 ' March 7, 1865 
 " March 5, 1861 
 '' Jan. 15, 1862 
 
 March 5, 1861 
 March 5, 1861 
 Jan. 8, 1863 
 March 5, 1861 
 Sept. 24, 1864 
 March 5, 1861 
 June 22, 1863 
 Dec. 2, 1864 
 
 partial term), 
 appo nted April 15, 1865 
 March 5, 1869 
 April 15, 1865 
 April 15, 1865 
 Aug. 12, 1868 
 Feb. 21, 1868 
 May 28, 1868 
 April 15, 1865 
 April 15, 1865 
 May 15, 1865 
 July 27, 1866 
 April 15, 1865 
 July 25, 1866 
 April 15, 1865 
 July 23, 1866 
 July 15, 1868 
 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT: March 4, 1869 March 5, 1877 (two terms). 
 Secretary of State : Hamilton Fish, appointed March n, 1869 
 
 March n, 1869 
 March 17, 1873 
 June 4, 1 674 
 July 7, 1876 
 March n, 1869 
 Oct. 25, 1869 
 March 8, 1876 
 May 22, 1876 
 March 5, 1869 
 June 25, 1869 
 March 5, 1869 
 Nov. i, 1870 
 Oct. 19, 1875 
 March 5, 1869 
 Aug. 24, 1874 
 July 12, 1876 
 March 5, 1869 
 June 23, 1870 
 Dec. 14, 1871 
 April 26, 1875 
 May 29, 1876 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 << 
 
 '' Treasury 
 
 " War: 
 
 Navy : 
 Interior . 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 i< 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 William H. Seward, 
 Elihu B. Washburne, 
 Hugh McCulloch, 
 Edwin M. Stanton, 
 Ulysses S. Grant, ad int., 
 Lorenzo Thomas, 
 John M. Schofield, 
 Gideon Welles, 
 John P. Usher, 
 James Harlan, 
 Orville H. Browning, 
 William Dennison, 
 Alexander W. Randall, 
 James Speed, 
 Henry Stanbery, 
 William M. Evarts, 
 
 Treasury : George S. Boutwell, 
 
 ' " William A. Richardson, 
 
 1 " Benjamin H. Bristow, 
 
 ' " Lot M. Morrill, 
 
 1 War : John A. Rawlins, 
 
 ' " William W. Belknap, 
 
 ' " Alphonso Taft, 
 
 ' " James D. Cameron, 
 
 " Navy : Adolph E. Borie, 
 
 " " George M. Robeson, 
 
 " Interior: Jacob D. Cox, 
 
 " " Columbus Delano, 
 
 " " Zachariah Chandler, 
 
 Postmaster- Genera I : John A. J. Creswell, 
 
 Marshall Jewell, 
 
 " " James N. Tyner. 
 
 Attorney-General: E. Rock wood Hoar, 
 Amos T. Akerman, 
 
 " " George H. Williams, 
 
 " " Edwards Pierrepont, 
 
 " " Alphonso Taft,
 
 COMMANDERS OF THE U. S. ARMY. 
 
 655 
 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES : March 5, 1877 March 4, 1881 (one term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 '' Treasury 
 
 " War : 
 
 it 
 
 Navy : 
 
 (i << 
 
 " Interior : 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 
 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 William M. Evarts, 
 John Sherman, 
 George W. McCrary, 
 Alexander Ramsey, 
 Richard W. Thompson, 
 Nathan Goff, Jr., 
 Carl Schurz, 
 David McK. Key, 
 Horace Maynard, 
 Charles Devens, 
 
 appointed March 12, 1877 
 " March 8, 1877 
 
 " March 12, 1877 
 
 Dec. 10, 1879 
 March 12, 1877 
 Jan. 6, 1 88 1 
 March 12, 1877 
 March 12, 1877 
 June 2, 1880 
 March 12, 1877 
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD: March 4, 1881 September 19, 1881 (partial term). 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 '' Treasury . 
 
 " War : 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 " Interior : 
 
 Postmaster- General : 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 James G. Elaine, 
 William Windom, 
 Robert T. Lincoln, 
 William H. Hunt, 
 Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
 Thomas L. James, 
 Wayne MacVeagh, 
 
 appointed March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 " March 5, 1881 
 
 CHESTER A. ARTHUR, September 20, 1881- 
 
 Secretary of State : 
 
 " Treasury : 
 
 " War : 
 
 " Navy : 
 
 " Interior : 
 
 Postmaster- General: 
 Attorney- General : 
 
 F. T. Frelinghuysen, 
 Charles J. Folger, 
 Robert T. -Lincoln, 
 William E. Chandler, 
 Henry M. Teller, 
 Timothy O. Howe, 
 Benjamin H. Brewster, 
 
 appointed Dec. 12, 1881 
 
 " Oct. 27, 1 88 1 
 
 " Sept. 20, 1 88 1 
 
 " April i, 1882 
 
 " April 6, 1882 
 
 " Dec. 20, 1 88 1 
 
 " Dec. 19, 1 88 1 
 
 COMMANDERS OF THE U. S. ARMY 1775-1! 
 
 Major-General George Washington iP ne I5 ' *775' to December 23, 1783. 
 
 Major-General Henry Knox December 23, 1783, to June 20, 1784. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmer, gener- 
 al-in-chief by brevet September, 1788, to March, 1791. 
 
 Major-General Arthur St. Clair March 4, 1791, to March, 1792. 
 
 Major-General Anthony Wayne April n, 1792, to December 15, 1796. 
 
 Major-General James Wilkinson December 15, 1796, to July. 1798. 
 
 Lieutenant-General George Washington. ..July 3, 1798, to his death, December 14, 1799. 
 
 Major-General James Wilkinson .June, 1800, to January, 1812. 
 
 Major-General Henry Dearborn January 27, 1812, to June, 1815. 
 
 Major-General Jacob Brown June, 1815, to February 21, 1828 
 
 Major-General Alexander Macomb May 24, 1828, to June, 1841. 
 
 Major-General Winfield Scott(brevet Lieu- 
 tenant-General) June, 1841, to November i, 1861. 
 
 Major-General George B.McClellan November i, 1861, to March n, 1862. 
 
 Major-General Henry W. Halleck July u, 1862, to March 12, 1864. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant March 12 1864, to July 25, 1866, and as Gen- 
 eral to March 4, 1869. 
 
 General William T. Sherman March 4. 1869, to November i, 1883. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Philip H. Sheridan ....Since November i, 1883.
 
 CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE U. S. NAVY. 
 
 CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE U. S. ARMY. 
 
 Entered the Army. 
 
 General of the Army ......... Lieut.-Gen. Philip H.Sheridan ........ 1853 
 
 Major-Generals .................. Winfield S. Hancock ..................... 1844 
 
 John M. Schofield ......................... 1853 
 
 John Pope .................................. 1842 
 
 Brigadier-Generals ............. Oliver O. Howard ........................ 1854 
 
 Alfred H. Terry ...................... ...... 1865 
 
 Christopher C. Augur .................... 1843 
 
 George Crook .............................. 1852 
 
 Nelson A. Miles ........................... 1866 
 
 Ranold S. Mackenzie... 1862 
 
 CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE U. S. NAVY. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 Whence 
 Ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 Original 
 Entry 
 into 
 Service. 
 
 Rank. 
 
 David D Porter. 
 
 Penn... 
 
 1820 
 
 Admiral. 
 
 Stephen C. Rowan 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1826 
 
 Vice-Admiral. 
 
 
 N. Y.... 
 
 1874 
 
 1 
 
 Edward T. Nichols 
 
 Ga 
 
 1836 
 
 
 
 N. Y 
 
 18-57 
 
 
 
 N. Y 
 
 1838 
 
 \ Rear- Admirals. 
 
 Charles H. Baldwin 
 
 N. Y.... 
 
 l8lO 
 
 
 Robert W. Shufeldt 
 
 N. Y. ... 
 
 18^0 
 
 
 Thomas Pattison.. . 
 
 N. Y.... 
 
 18 
 
 
 Edward Simpson 
 
 N. Y 
 
 1840 
 
 
 
 William G. Temple 
 
 Vt 
 
 1840 
 
 
 
 Thomas S. Phelps 
 
 Maine 
 
 1840 
 
 
 
 Clark H Wells 
 
 Penn 
 
 1840 
 
 
 
 S P Quackenbush. 
 
 N. Y 
 
 1840 
 
 
 
 Earl English 
 
 N. J 
 D. C 
 
 1840 
 1841 
 
 
 
 
 N. Y 
 
 1841 
 
 
 
 Samuel R. Franklin 
 Edward Y McCauley 
 
 Penn 
 Penn 
 
 1841 
 1841 
 
 
 
 J.C. P. de Krafft 
 
 Ill 
 
 1841 
 
 
 \ Commodores. 
 
 Oscar C. Badger 
 Stephen B. Luce 
 
 Penn 
 N. Y 
 
 1841 
 1841 
 
 
 
 
 Ind 
 
 1841 
 
 
 
 Alexander A. Semmes 
 
 Md 
 
 1841 
 
 
 
 William T. Truxtun 
 
 Penn 
 
 1841 
 
 
 
 
 Ill 
 
 1841 
 
 
 
 William K. Mayo 
 James E. Jowett 
 T. Scott Fillebrown 
 
 Va 
 Ky 
 Maine.... 
 
 1841 
 1841 
 1841 
 
 
 
 Johnuss H. Rell 
 
 Md 
 
 1841 
 

 
 SPEAKERS. 
 
 657 
 
 SPEAKERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.* 
 
 Name. 
 
 State. 
 
 Con- 
 gress 
 
 Term of Service. 
 
 F. A. Muhlenberg 
 Jonathan Trumbull 
 F. A. Muhlenberg 
 Jonathan Dayton 
 
 Pennsylvania ... 
 Connecticut 
 Pennsylvania.... 
 
 ISt 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 4 th 
 S th 
 6th 
 7 th 
 Sth 
 9th 
 loth 
 nth 
 i2th 
 
 1 3th 
 1 4th 
 
 1 6th 
 i6th 
 1 7th 
 
 iSth 
 I9th 
 
 20th 
 21St 
 22d 
 
 23d 
 23d 
 24th 
 25th 
 26th 
 27th 
 2 8th 
 
 3oth 
 3ist 
 
 33d 
 34th 
 35th 
 36th 
 37th 
 38th 
 39th 
 4oth 
 4ist 
 
 43d 
 44th 
 44th 
 45th 
 4 6th 
 47 th 
 48th 
 
 April i, 1789, to March 4, 1791 
 October 24, 1791, to March 4, 1793 
 December 2, 1703, to March 4, 1795 
 December 7, 1795, to March 4, 1797 
 May 15, 1797, to March 3, 1799 
 December 2, 1799, to March 4, 1801 
 December 7, 1801, to March 4, 1803 
 October 17, 1803, to March 4, 1805 
 December 2, 1805, to March 4, 1807 
 October 26, 1807, to March 4, 1809 
 May 22, 1809, to March 4, 1811 
 November 4, 1811, to March 4, 1813 
 May 24, 1813, to Jan'y 19, 1814 
 January 19, 1814, to March 4, 1815 
 December 4, 1815, to March 4, 1817 
 December i, 1817, to March 4, 1819 
 December 6, 1819, to May 15, 1820 
 November 15. 1820, to March 4, 1821 
 December 4, 1821, to March 4, 1823 
 December i, 1823, to March 4, 1825 
 December 5, 1825, to March 4, 1827 
 December 3, 1827, to March 4, 1829 
 December 7, 1829, to March 4, 1831 
 December 5, 1831, to March 4, 1833 
 December 2, 1833, to June 2,1834 
 June 2, 1834, to March 4, 1835 
 December 7, 1835, to March 4, 1837 
 Septembers, 1837, to March 4, 1839 
 Decemberi6, 1839, to March 4, 1841 
 May 31, 1841, to March 4, 1843 
 December 4, 1843, to March 4, 1845 
 December i, 1845, to March 4, 1847 
 December 6, 1847, to March 4, 1849 
 December22, 1849,10 March 4, 1851 
 December i, 1851, to March 4, 1853 
 December 5, 1853, to March 4, 1855 
 February 2, 1856, to March 4, 1857 
 December 7, 1857, to March 4, 1859 
 February i, 1860, to March 4, 1861 
 July 4, 1861, to March 4, 1863 
 December 7, 1863, to March 4, 1865 
 December 4, 1865, to March 4, 1867 
 March 4, 1867, to March 4, 1869 
 March 4, 1869, to March 4, 1871 
 March 4, 1871, to March 4, 1873 
 December i, 1873, to March 4, 1875 
 December 6, 1875, to Aug. 20, 1876 
 December 4, 1876, to March 4, 1877 
 October 15, 1877, to March 4, 1879 
 March 18, 1879, to March 4, 1881 
 December 5, 1881, to March 4, 1883 
 December 3, 1883, to 
 
 Theodore Sedgwick Massachusetts.... 
 Nathaniel Macon 'North Carolina- 
 
 
 Massachusetts.... 
 Kentucky 
 
 South Carolina. . 
 Kentucky 
 
 New York 
 
 Henry Clay 
 
 Henry Clay 
 
 John W. Taylor 
 Philip P Barbour 
 
 Henry Clay 
 John W. Taylor 
 
 Andrew Stevenson 
 
 John Bell 
 James K. Polk 
 
 Kentucky 
 New York 
 Virginia 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 Virginia ;... 
 Kentucky 
 
 Robert M. T. Hunter 
 John White 
 
 John W. Davis 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Robert C. Winthrop 
 
 Massachusetts ... 
 
 Howell Cobb 
 Linn Boyd 
 
 Georgia 
 Kentucky 
 
 Nathaniel P. Banks Massachusetts... 
 James L. Orr South Carolina... 
 
 Wm. Pennington 
 Galusha A. Grow 
 
 New Jersey 
 Pennsylvania .... 
 
 
 
 Michael C. Kerr 
 Samuel J. Randall 
 
 J. Warren Keifer 
 John G. Carlisle 
 
 Indiana 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Ohio 
 Kentucky 
 
 * Not including Speakers pro tern. 
 
 CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION OF THE STATES. 
 
 I. RATIO OF REPRESENTATIVES AND POPULATION. 
 By Constitution, 1789 One to 30,000. 
 
 First Census, from March 4th, 1793. 
 Second " " " 1803.. 
 
 Third " " " 1813.. 
 
 33,000. 
 33,000. 
 35,000.
 
 658 
 
 CONGRESSIONAL RKPKESENTA TION. 
 
 By Fourth Census, from March 4th, 1823 One to 40,000. 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 '833. 
 1843- 
 i?53. 
 1863 
 
 1873. 
 1883. 
 
 47,700. 
 70,680. 
 
 93.423. 
 127,381. 
 
 131,425- 
 154,325. 
 
 II. REPRESENTATIVES FROM EACH STATE UNDER EACH CENSUS. 
 
 STATES. 
 
 Consti- 
 tution, 
 1789. 
 
 ist 
 census 
 
 2d 
 census 
 
 -1 
 
 ^>c 
 o 
 
 jc % 
 
 *S 
 8 
 
 | 
 
 10 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 7th 
 
 census 
 
 8th 
 census 
 
 S3 -S3 
 *g 2g 
 
 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 6 
 8 
 3 
 4 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 10 
 
 7 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 19 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 7 
 i 
 
 4 
 9 
 17 
 
 6 
 17 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 22 
 6 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 6 
 6 
 27 
 13 
 23 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 23 
 
 IO 
 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 6 
 i 
 
 7 
 9 
 13 
 6 
 6 
 34 
 3 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 22 
 12 
 
 5 
 9 
 H 
 
 3 
 i 
 
 3 
 3 
 7 
 i 
 i 
 
 6 
 I 
 
 9 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 13 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 21 
 13 
 
 S 
 13 
 19 
 5 
 3 
 7 
 3 
 8 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 4 
 i 
 
 8 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 5 
 34 
 9 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 ii 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 7 
 4 
 5 
 i 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 I 
 8 
 6 
 ii 
 3 
 5 
 33 
 8 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 '3 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 9 
 ii 
 
 4 
 6 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 2 
 2 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 5 
 3i 
 7 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 II 
 
 9 
 3 
 8 
 
 19 
 6 
 
 H 
 ii 
 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 9 
 3 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 6 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 4 
 6 
 i 
 i 
 I 
 
 4 
 I 
 
 9 
 6 
 ii 
 3 
 
 7 
 33 
 8 
 
 27 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 9 
 
 IO 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 8 
 '9 
 13 
 6 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 13 
 4 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 3 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 i 
 
 i 
 i 
 _3_ 
 293 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 34 
 9 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 ii 
 
 2 
 10 
 21 
 8 
 20 
 13 
 
 6 
 4 
 7 
 14 
 5 
 ii 
 6 
 
 2 
 II 
 
 5 
 i 
 ii 
 9 
 7 
 3 
 i 
 i 
 4 
 
 325 
 
 Delaware 
 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 
 New York 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 South Carolina. .. 
 
 Virginia 
 
 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Illinois 
 
 
 
 
 
 Indiana 
 
 
 
 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maine 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 
 
 
 
 Michigan 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Florida 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Iowa 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kansas 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colorado 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 West Virginia.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Whole number 
 
 65 
 
 I5 
 
 141 
 
 181 
 
 213 
 
 240 
 
 223 
 
 237 
 
 243
 
 SUPREME COURT. 
 
 659 
 
 Chief Justices and Associate Justices of 
 the U. S. Supreme Court.* 
 
 State Whence Appointed. 
 
 Term of 
 Service. 
 
 Years of 
 Service. 
 
 John Jayf 
 
 New York 
 
 I78o-I7OC 
 
 6 
 
 John Rutledge f , 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 I78o-I7OI 
 
 
 William Gushing 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 1789-1810 
 
 
 James Wilson $ 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 I78Q-I7Q8 
 
 
 John Blair } 
 
 Virginia 
 
 1 78Q-I7Q6 
 
 
 Robert H Harrison f 
 
 Maryland 
 
 
 
 James Iredell 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 I7QO-I7QQ 
 
 
 Thomas Johnson -J- 
 William Patterson \ 
 
 Maryland 
 
 New Jersey..., 
 
 I79I-I793 
 
 2 
 i-I 
 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 I7QC. I7QC 
 
 
 Samuel Chase $ 
 
 Maryland 
 
 I796-l8l I 
 
 if 
 
 Oliver Ellsworth f 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 1796-1801 
 
 c 
 
 Bushrod Washington $ 
 
 Virginia... 
 
 1798-1829 
 
 71 
 
 Alfred Moore j- 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 I7Oq-l8o4 
 
 c 
 
 John Marshall 
 
 Virginia 
 
 1801-1835 
 
 74 
 
 William Johnson f..... 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 1804-1834 
 
 
 Brockholst Livingston 2 
 
 New York 
 
 1806-1823 
 
 17 
 
 Thomas Todd2 
 
 Kentucky . . 
 
 1807-1826 
 
 IQ 
 
 Joseph Story 2 
 
 Massachusetts ... . 
 
 181 1-1845 
 
 
 Gabriel Duval } .... 
 
 Maryland 
 
 1811-1836 
 
 ^f 
 
 Smith Thompson \ 
 
 New York 
 
 1827-1841; 
 
 22 
 
 Robert Trimble \ 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 1826-1828 
 
 2 
 
 John McLean \ 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1829-1861 
 
 
 Henry Baldwin $ 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 1 830- 1 846 
 
 16 
 
 James M. Wayne | 
 
 Georgia 
 
 1835-1867 
 
 72 
 
 Roger B. Taney $ 
 
 Maryland ... 
 
 1836-1864 
 
 ?8 
 
 Philip P. Barbour \. 
 
 Virginia 
 
 1836-1841 
 
 5 
 
 JohnCatron$ 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 1837-1865 
 
 ?8 
 
 John McKinley 
 
 Alabama 
 
 1877-1852 
 
 15 
 
 Peter V Daniel \ 
 
 Virginia 
 
 1841-1860 
 
 iq 
 
 Samuel Nelson f 
 Levi Woodbury 
 
 New York 
 New Hampshire 
 
 1845-1872 
 1845-1851 
 
 27 
 6 
 
 Robert C. Grierf 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 1846 1869 
 
 7,3 
 
 Benjamin R Curtis j~ 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 1851-1857 
 
 6 
 
 John A. Campbell f 
 
 Alabama 
 
 1853-1861 
 
 8 
 
 Nathan Clifford g 
 
 Maine 
 
 1858-1881 
 
 23 
 
 Noah H. Swaynef 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1861-1881 
 
 20 
 
 Samuel F. Miller 
 
 Iowa 
 
 1862- 
 
 
 David Davisf 
 
 
 1862-1877 
 
 ]C 
 
 Stephen J. Field 
 
 California 
 
 1863- 
 
 
 Salmon P Chase 2 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1864-1873 
 
 9 
 
 \Villiam Strong } 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 1870-1880 
 
 10 
 
 Joseph P. Bradley 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 '1870- 
 
 
 Ward Hunt 
 
 New York 
 
 1872-1882 
 
 10 
 
 Morrison R "Waite 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1874- 
 
 
 John M. Harlan 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 1877- 
 
 
 William B Woods 
 
 Georgia 
 
 1880- 
 
 
 Stanley Matthews 
 Horace Gray 
 
 Ohio 
 
 1881- 
 1881- 
 
 
 Samuel Blatchford . . . 
 
 New York... 
 
 1882- 
 
 
 * Chief Justices in heavy type, f Resigned. \ Presided one term, g Died in office.
 
 66O WHERE OUR CHIEF OFFICERS CAME I- ROM. 
 
 WHERE OUR CHIEF OFFICERS CAME FROM. 
 From the beginning of the Government in 1789 to 1884. 
 
 STATHS. 
 
 Presidents. 
 
 V ice- 
 Presidents. 
 
 Secretaries of 
 State. 
 
 Secretaries of 
 Treasury. 
 
 Secretaries of 
 War. 
 
 Secretaries of 
 Navy. 
 
 Secretaries of 
 Interior. 
 
 Postmasters- 
 
 i , :, ...: 
 
 Attorneys-fteneral. 
 
 Supreme Court 
 Ju 
 
 Presidents pro tern. 
 of Senate. 
 
 \ 
 
 o 
 
 K 
 
 s 
 
 V 
 
 _i 
 
 
 & 
 V) 
 
 H 
 
 Alabama 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 ? 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 Colorado 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Connecticut.. 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 T 
 
 7 
 
 T 
 
 15 
 
 Delaware 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Florida 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Georgia . . . 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 ? 
 
 ?, 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ? 
 
 ? 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 14 
 
 Illinois _ 
 
 ? 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 8 
 
 Indiana 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 ii 
 
 Iowa 
 
 
 
 
 
 f, 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Kansas 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 7. 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2T. 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Maine 
 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 Maryland 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 T 
 
 7 
 
 
 2 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 2 
 
 
 ?I 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 ,] 
 
 C 
 
 
 I 
 
 C 
 
 4 
 
 ? 
 
 4 
 
 36 
 
 Michigan 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 
 6 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 T 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 4 
 
 Missouri 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 
 8 
 
 New Jersey.... 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 f 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 C 
 
 
 5 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 f 
 
 T 
 
 41 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 IO 
 
 Ohio 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 e 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 26 
 
 Oregon 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 1, 
 
 
 ? 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 2 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 
 ?. 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 '4 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 7 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 
 
 Vermont 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 4 
 
 Virginia. 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 T. 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 40 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 7 
 
 Total 
 
 ?i 
 
 7T> 
 
 ?o 
 
 74. 
 
 n 
 
 7O 
 
 14. 
 
 TO 
 
 78 
 
 49 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 OUR REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD. 
 
 661 
 
 OUR REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD. 
 
 COUNTRY. 
 
 Name and Rank. 
 
 Residence. 
 
 alary. 
 
 Argentine Republic 
 
 Thomas O. Osborn, Min. Res 
 Alphonso Taft,* E. E. and M. P 
 
 Juenos Ayres 
 
 $7,Soo 
 
 
 -lenry White, Sec. Leg., and C. G 
 Nicholas Fish, Minister Res 
 
 Vienna 
 
 3>500 
 
 Bolivia 
 Brazil .....'. 
 
 Richard Gibbs, M. R. and C. G 
 Thomas A. Osborne, E. E. and M. P. 
 
 ^a Paz 
 
 5,000 
 
 Central American 
 States 
 Chili 
 
 Charles B. Trail, Sec. Legation 
 
 Henry C. Hall, E. E. and M. P 
 C. A. Logan, E. E. and M. P 
 
 iio de Janeiro 
 Guatemala 
 
 1,800 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 [. Russell Young, E. E. and M. P 
 
 
 
 
 Chester Holcombe, Sec. and Int 
 
 
 
 Colombia 
 
 Wm. L. Scruggs, Minister Res 
 Lucius H. Fcote, E. E. and M. P 
 
 Jogota 
 
 7,500 
 
 
 Wick'm Hoffman. M. R. and C. G.... 
 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 Levi P. Morton, E. E. and M. P 
 
 Paris 
 
 
 
 
 Paris 
 
 
 
 -lenri Vignaud, zd Sec. Legation 
 
 
 
 
 Aaron A. Sargent, E. E. and M. P.... 
 
 Berlin 
 
 17,500 
 
 
 i. Sidney Everett, Sec. Legation 
 
 Berlin 
 
 2,625 
 
 
 Chapman Coleman, zd S. Legation 
 James R. Lowell, E. E. and M. P 
 
 Berlin 
 
 2,000 
 
 Greece 
 Hawaiian Islands.... 
 Hayti 
 
 ^m. J. Hoppin, See. Legation 
 E. S. Nadal, 2d Sec. Legation 
 Eugene Schuyler, M. R. and C. G 
 lollin M. Daggett, Min. Res 
 John M. Langston, M. R. and C. G.. 
 
 London 
 London 
 Athens 
 Honolulu 
 Port au Prince 
 
 2,625 
 2,000 
 6,500 
 
 7,500 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 Wm. W. Astor, E. E. and M. P 
 
 Rome 
 
 12,000 
 
 
 Lewis Richmond, Sec. of Leg. and C. 
 G 
 
 
 
 Japan 
 
 lohn A. Bingham, E. E. and M. P.... 
 justavus Goward, Sec. Legation 
 Willis N. Whitney, Interpreter 
 J. H. Smyth, M. R. and C. G.... 
 
 Tokei (Yedo) 
 Tokei (Yedo) 
 I'okei (Yedo) 
 Monrovia 
 
 12,000 
 2,500 
 2,500 
 5,000 
 
 
 Philip H. Morgan, E. E. and M. P... 
 
 Mexico 
 
 12,000 
 
 Netherlands 
 
 Henry H. Morgan, Sec. Legation 
 Wm. L. Dayton, Minister Res 
 
 VIexico 
 The Hague 
 
 1,800 
 7,5 
 
 Paraguay and Uru 
 guay 
 
 Wm Williams, Charge d'Affaires 
 S. G. W. Benjamin, Min. Res. and 
 
 VIontevideo 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 Peru 
 
 SethS. Phelps, E. E. and M. P 
 John M. Francis, M. R. and C. G 
 
 Lima 
 Lisbon 
 
 10,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 Eugene Schuyler, M.R.andC. G 
 
 Athens 
 
 6,500 
 
 
 
 St. Petersburg 
 
 17,500 
 
 Servia 
 aiam 
 
 George W. Wertz, Sec. Legation 
 Eugene Schuyler, M. R. andC. G..... 
 J. A. Halderman, M R.and C. G 
 John W. Foster, E. E. and M. P 
 
 St. Petersburg 
 Athens 
 Bangkok 
 Madrid 
 
 2,625 
 6,500 
 5,000 
 12,000 
 
 Sweden and Norwa; 
 Switzerland 
 Turkey 
 
 Venezuela , 
 
 Dwight T. Reed, Sec. and C. G 
 Wm. W. Thomas, Jr., Min. Res 
 Michael J. Cramer, M. R. and C. G.. 
 Lewis Wallace, E. E. and M. P 
 G. Harris Heap. Sec. Leg. and C. G. 
 A. A. Gargiulo, Interpreter 
 Jehu Baker, Minister Res 
 
 Madrid 
 Stockholm 
 Berne, 
 Constantinople 
 Constantinople 
 Constantinople 
 Caracas 
 
 3,000 
 7,500 
 5,090 
 7,500 
 3,500 
 3,000 
 7>5>
 
 662 OUR REPRESENTATIVES FROM ABROAD. 
 
 OUR REPRESENTATIVES FROM ABROAD 
 
 COUNTRY. 
 
 NAMK. 
 
 Argentine Republic. 
 
 Austria-Hungary 
 
 Senor Don Louis L. Dominguez.* 
 
 Senor Don Florencio L. Dominguez.f 
 
 Baron Ignatz von Schaeffer (absent).* 
 
 Count von Lippe Weissenfield.J 
 Belgium 'Mr. Bounder de Melsbroeck.* 
 
 Count Gaston d'Arschot.J 
 
 Brazil Senhor J. G. do Amaral Valente.J 
 
 Chili Senor Don Joaquin Godoy.* 
 
 1 Senor Don Federico Pinto. -j- 
 China ;Mr. Cheng Tsao Ju.* 
 
 Mr. Tsii Shau Pung.f 
 
 Denmark... Mr. Carl Steen Anderson de Billie.g 
 
 France Mr. Theodore Roustan (absent).* 
 
 Mr. Horace Denaut.J 
 Germany , Captain C. von Eisendscker.* 
 
 Cuunt Lyden.f 
 Great Britain jThe Honorable L. S. Sackville West.* 
 
 Dudley E. Saurin, Esq.j- 
 
 Hawaii 
 Hayti.., 
 
 Mr. H. A. P. Carter.* 
 Mr. Stephen Preston.* 
 
 Mr. Charles A. Preston.f 
 Italy 'Baron de Fava (absent).* 
 
 ! Marquis A. Dalla Valle de Mirabello.J 
 Japan jjoshii Terashima Munenori (absent^.* 
 
 Mr. Naito Ruijiro.f 
 Mexico Senor Don Matias Romero (absent^.* 
 
 Senor Don Cayetano Romero. J 
 Netherlands Mr. G. de Weckherlin (absent).? 
 
 Baron P. de Smeth Van Alphen \ 
 
 Peru Senor Don J. Federico Elmore.f 
 
 Portugal Viscount das Nogueiras.* 
 
 Russia Mr. Charles de Struve.* 
 
 Mr. Gregoire de \Villamov.f 
 Spain Senor Don Juan Valera.* 
 
 Sefior Don Enrique Dupuy de Lome.J 
 Sweden and Norway iCount Carl Lewenhaupt (absent).* 
 
 Mr. C. de Bildt.J 
 Switzerland Colonel Emile Frey.* 
 
 Major Karl Kloss.f 
 Turkey 
 
 Uruguay . 
 
 Tewfik Pasha.* 
 
 Rustem Effendi.f 
 
 Senor Don Enrique M. Estrazulas. \ 
 
 * Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, t Secretary of Legation. 
 \ Counselor and Charge d' Affaires, jf Minister Resident'ancl Consul General.
 
 PAY Of CHIEF OFFICERS V. S. NAVY. 55 s 
 
 PAY OF THE CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE U. S. NAVY. 
 
 
 At Sea. 
 
 On Shore 
 Duty. 
 
 On Leave 
 or Waiting 
 Orders 
 
 
 9>\ i ooo 
 
 $13 ooo 
 
 
 Vice-Admiral 
 
 Q.OOO 
 
 8 ooo 
 
 
 Rear- Admirals 
 
 6,OOO 
 
 5 o 
 
 
 Commodores 
 
 S OO 
 
 4 ooo 
 
 
 Captains 
 
 4. COO 
 
 1 COO 
 
 2 8OO 
 
 Commanders 
 
 3, coo 
 
 3,000 
 
 2 7OO 
 
 Lieutenant-Commanders 
 First four years ... 
 
 2,800 
 
 2 4OO 
 
 2 OOO 
 
 After four years 
 
 3,000 
 
 2,6OO 
 
 2 2OO 
 
 Lieutenants First five years.. 
 
 2 400 
 
 2 OOO 
 
 I 6OO 
 
 After five years. 
 
 2 6OO 
 
 2,2OO 
 
 I 8OO 
 
 Masters First five years 
 
 1, 800 
 
 I.IOO 
 
 I 2OO 
 
 After five years 
 
 2,000 
 
 I.7CO 
 
 I 4OO 
 
 Ensigns First five years 
 
 I,2OO 
 
 I, OOO 
 
 800 
 
 After five years 
 
 1,400 
 
 I,2OO 
 
 I, OOO 
 
 Midshipmen . . 
 
 I OOO 
 
 800 
 
 600 
 
 Cadet Midshipmen 
 
 coo 
 
 coo 
 
 Coo 
 
 Mates 
 
 ooo 
 
 700 
 
 coo 
 
 Medical and Pay Directors, Inspectors, and 
 Chief Engineers 
 
 4,400 
 
 
 
 Fleet Surgeons, Paymasters, and Engineers. 
 Surgeons, Paymasters, and Chief Engineers 
 First five years 
 
 4,400 
 2,800 
 
 2,400 
 
 2,000 
 
 Second five years 
 
 7,200 
 
 2,800 
 
 2,400 
 
 Third five years 
 
 3, coo 
 
 3 2OO 
 
 2,600 
 
 Fourth five years 
 
 3 700 
 
 3,6OO 
 
 2,800 
 
 After twenty years 
 
 4 2OO 
 
 4,OOO 
 
 3,000 
 
 Passed Assistant Surgeons, Paymasters, and 
 Engineers First five years 
 
 2,OOO 
 
 1, 8OO 
 
 I, COO 
 
 After five years 
 
 2,2OO 
 
 2,OOO 
 
 1,700 
 
 Assistant Surgeons, Paymasters, and Engi- 
 neers 
 First five years 
 
 I 7OO 
 
 1, 4OO 
 
 I, OOO 
 
 After five years 
 
 I, QOO 
 
 1, 6OO 
 
 I,2OO 
 
 Chaplains First five years 
 
 2, COO 
 
 2,OOO 
 
 I OOO 
 
 After five years 
 
 2 8OO 
 
 2.3OO 
 
 I QOO 
 
 Boatswains, Gunners, Carpenters, and Sail- 
 makers 
 First three years 
 
 2OO 
 
 QOO 
 
 7OO 
 
 
 3OO 
 
 I, OOO 
 
 800 
 
 Third three years 
 
 ,4OO 
 
 I.3OO 
 
 9OO 
 
 Fourth three years 
 
 ,6OO 
 
 I,3OO 
 
 I, OOO 
 
 After twelve years 
 
 ,800 
 
 1, 600 
 
 I,2OO 
 
 Cadet Engineers (after examination) 
 
 ,OOO 
 
 800 
 
 600
 
 664 /v/ YMENTS FOR PENSIONS. 
 
 PAY OF CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE U. S. ARMY. 
 
 GRADE OR RANK. 
 1 
 
 Pay of Officers in Active Service. 
 
 Yearly Pay. 
 
 First 5 
 years 
 
 service. 
 
 After 5 
 years 
 service. 
 
 After 10 
 years 
 service. 
 
 After 15 
 years 
 service. 
 
 After 20 
 years 
 service. 
 
 General 
 
 $n.<;oo 
 
 10 /. C. 
 
 20 /. f. 
 
 30 /. c 
 
 40 /. c. 
 
 
 11,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 5OO 
 
 
 
 
 
 Brigadier-General 
 
 S.SQO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,500 
 3,000 
 2,500 
 
 2,000 
 
 ,800 
 ,800 
 ,800 
 ,600 
 ,500 
 ,500 
 ,400 
 ,500 
 
 *3,850 
 
 3,3 
 2,750 
 2,200 
 1,980 
 1,980 
 1,980 
 1,760 
 1,650 
 1,650 
 1,540 
 1,650 
 
 $4,200 
 3,600 
 
 3,000 
 
 2,400 
 
 2,160 
 2,160 
 
 2J60 
 
 1,920 
 1, 800 
 1, 800 
 1, 680 
 1, 800 
 
 $4,500 
 3,900 
 3,250 
 
 2,600 
 
 2,340 
 2,340 
 2,340 
 2,080 
 
 1,950 
 1,950 
 1,820 
 1,950 
 
 $4,500 
 4,000 
 
 3-500 
 2,800 
 2,520 
 2,520 
 2,520 
 2,240 
 2,IOO 
 2,100 
 1,960 
 2,100 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel 
 
 Major 
 
 Captain, mounted. .... 
 
 Captain, not mounted 
 
 Regimental Adjutant 
 
 Regimental Quartermaster 
 1st Lieutenant, mounted.. 
 
 1st Lieutenant, not mounted... 
 2d Lieutenant, mounted 
 
 2d Lieutenant, not mounted.. 
 Chaplain 
 
 PAYMENTS FOR PENSIONS IN 1883. 
 
 
 Pensions paid during the Year. 
 
 Number of 
 Pensioners. 
 
 STATMS. 
 
 For Regular 
 Pensions. 
 
 For 
 Arrears of 
 Pensions. 
 
 Salary and 
 Expenses 
 of Pension 
 Agents. 
 
 Total 
 
 Disburse- 
 ments. 
 
 1882. 
 
 1883. 
 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 ',948,453-54 
 4,045.320.08 
 5.863,544- 76 
 5.636,155-64 
 2,087.440.80 
 3,616,997.31 
 a.755.227-40 
 5.".507. So 
 2,842,400.69 
 1,600,370.16 
 3,282,322.78 
 2,809,535.73 
 3,176,762.17 
 3.054975.95 
 408,379.66 
 
 4,088.557-37 
 4,174,624 48 
 
 3,572.433-2' 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 52".47 
 4,091.60 
 
 5,26->.30 
 8.43'- 57 
 4.216.72 
 1.4I3-73 
 2,760.28 
 4,126.67 
 7.48383 
 7.353-6o 
 3.515-42 
 3.965-93 
 5.364-72 
 4,081.47 
 
 2,198.01 
 8,053.01 
 6,970.37 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 11,938.11 
 18,858.60 
 22,643.97 
 23,562.99 
 13-264-55 
 14,358-56 
 '4.039-04 
 17,483-23 
 '5,379-76 
 8,353-37 
 I439i-i3 
 '9.205-99 
 '7.99749 
 13.224.50 
 5,859.22 
 19,240.51 
 16,438.17 
 22,915.73 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 1,960,913.12 
 4,068,270.28 
 5,89 1,449-03 
 5,668,150.20 
 2,104,922.07 
 3,632,769-60 
 2,772,026.72 
 5,122,117.40 
 2,865,264.28 
 1,616,077.13 
 
 3.300,229.33 
 2,832,707.65 
 3,200,124.38 
 3,072,281.92 
 414,238.88 
 4,109,995.89 
 4.199,115.66 
 3,6oi,3'9-3' 
 
 11,526 
 22,004 
 
 !2 >5 ! 7 
 26,163 
 
 11,028 
 13.860 
 
 ",999 
 18,805 
 
 'IS 
 13.033 
 16,017 
 18,715 
 16,750 
 1,962 
 20,962 
 
 5,i93 
 90.324 
 
 11,827 
 23,495 
 25.854 
 27.686 
 ",007 
 16,051 
 13,080 
 20.921 
 17,189 
 7,001 
 I4-65J 
 16,141 
 '9,300 
 16,006 
 2,191 
 22,338 
 17.525 
 -1-3-J 
 
 Massachusetts 
 Illinois 
 
 Ohio 
 
 New Hampshire... 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Tennessee 
 Kentucky 
 Wisconsin .^ 
 New York 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 Pennsylvania ........ 
 California 
 
 Kansas 
 
 Oist. of Columbia- 
 
 ; 60,064,009.23 79.808.70 288,154.92 60,431.972.85 285,697 1303.658
 
 BALANCE OF TRADE. 
 
 665 
 
 BALANCE OF TRADE, 
 
 Showing our imports, our exports, and the excess either way for 
 twenty years. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 Merchandise at Gold Value. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Excess. 
 
 1864 
 
 $316,447,283 
 238,745.580 
 434,812,066 
 395,703,100 
 357.43 6 .440 
 417,506,379 
 435.958,408 
 520,223,684 
 626,505,077 
 642,136,210 
 567,406,342 
 533,005,436 
 460,741,19! 
 451,323,126 
 437.05I,53 2 
 445,777,775 
 667,954,746 
 642,664,628 
 724,639,574 
 723,180,914 
 
 $158,887,988 
 162,013,500 
 348,859,522 
 
 297,303,653 
 281,952,899 
 286,117,697 
 392,771,768 
 442,820,178 
 444,177,586 
 522,479,317 
 586,283,040 
 513,441,711 
 540,384,671 
 602,475,220 
 694,848,496 
 710,439,44! 
 835,638,658 
 -902,367,346 
 750,542,257 
 823,839,402 
 
 Imports $157,559,295 
 Imports 76,732,082 
 Imports 85,952,544 
 Imports 98,459,447 
 Imports 75,483,541 
 Imports 131,388,682 
 Imports 43,186,640 
 Imports 77,403,506 
 Imports 182,417,491 
 Imports 119,656,288 
 Exports 18,876,698 
 Imports 19,563,725 
 Exports 79,623,480 
 Exports 152,152,094 
 Exports 257,796,964 
 Exports 264,661,666 
 Exports 167,683,912 
 Exports 259,702,718 
 Exports 25,902,683 
 Exports 100,658,488 
 
 1865 
 
 1866 
 
 1867... 
 
 1868 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 ... 
 
 1872 
 
 1873 
 
 1874 
 
 1875... 
 
 1876..., 
 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1879 
 
 1880 
 
 1881 
 
 1882 
 
 1883 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 Specie. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Excess. 
 
 1864 
 
 $13,115,612 
 9,810,072 
 10,700,092 
 22,070,475 
 14,188,368 
 19,807,876 
 26,419,179 
 21,270,024 
 
 13,743.689 
 21,480,937 
 28,454,906 
 20,900,727 
 15,936,681 
 40,774,414 
 29,821,314 
 
 20,296,0- x> 
 
 93. 34,3 10 
 
 "0,575,497 
 42,472,390 
 28,489,391 
 
 $105,396,541 
 67,643,226 
 86,044,07 1 
 60,868,372 
 93,784,102 
 57,138,380 
 58,155,666 
 98,441,988 
 79,877,534 
 84,608,574 
 56,630,405 
 92,132,142 
 56,506,302 
 56,162,237 
 33,733,225 
 24,997,441 
 17,142,919 
 19,406,847 
 
 49,417,479 
 31,820,333 
 
 Exports $92,280,929 
 Exports 57,833,154 
 Exports 75,343,079 
 Exports 38,797,897 
 Exports 79,595,734 
 Exports 37,330,504 
 Exports 31,736,486 
 Exports 77,171,964 
 Exports 66,133,845 
 Exports 63,127,637 
 Exports 28,175,499 
 Exports 71,231,425 
 Exports 40,569,621 
 Exports 15,387,753 
 Exports 3,911,911 
 Exports 4,701,441 
 Imports 75,891,391 
 Imports 91,168,65^) 
 Exports 6,945,089 
 Exports 3,330,942 
 
 1865. 
 
 1866 
 
 1867 
 
 1868 
 
 1869 
 
 1870 
 
 1871 .. 
 
 1872... 
 
 187? .. 
 
 1874 
 
 1875... 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 1878..., 
 
 1870 . 
 
 1880 
 
 1881 
 
 1882 
 
 1883
 
 666 
 
 ki-:ri-:\n-:s or THE VNITED STATES. 
 
 
 YEAR ENDED 
 
 Jl'NH 30. 
 
 Amount 
 collected. 
 
 Expense 
 of collecting. 
 
 Per cent, 
 of cost. 
 
 
 1858 ... 
 
 $41,789,620.96 
 
 $2.901,116.89 
 
 6.04 
 
 
 1859..., 
 
 4.U, ;o; 824.18 
 
 3.4.07,071.77 
 
 685 
 
 
 1860 
 
 51.187,51 1.87 
 
 1,117 188.15 
 
 6.27 
 
 
 1861 
 
 3Q (82.I3C.64 
 
 2,84^.4^.84 
 
 7.18 
 
 
 1862 
 
 49,0156.197.62 
 
 1,276,560.19 
 
 6.67 
 
 
 1863... 
 
 69,059,642.40 
 
 3.181,026.17 
 
 4.60 
 
 u 
 
 1864 
 
 102,116,1 52.99 
 
 4,192,582.41 
 
 4.09 
 
 u> 
 
 1865... 
 
 84 928,260.60 
 
 5,41 5,440.12 
 
 6.1Q 
 
 w 
 
 1866 
 
 1 70,046, 6? i. ?8 
 
 5 142,460.00 
 
 2.98 
 
 
 1867 
 
 176,417,810.88 
 
 5,761,070 OI 
 
 ^.26 
 
 w 
 
 1868 
 
 164,464.^99.56 
 
 7,641,116.68 
 
 4.65 
 
 
 1869 
 
 180,048,426.63 
 
 5,388,082.31 
 
 2.99 
 
 a 
 
 1870 
 
 194,578 ^74.44 
 
 6,233,747.68 
 
 3.20 
 
 
 
 1871 .. 
 
 206,270,408.05 
 
 6,568,150.61 
 
 3.18 
 
 H 
 
 1872 
 
 216,370,286.77 
 
 6,950,173.88 
 
 3-21 
 
 p 
 
 1871 
 
 188,089.522.70 
 
 7.077,864.70 
 
 3.76 
 
 u 
 
 1874 
 
 161,101,811.69 
 
 7,321,469.94 
 
 449 
 
 w 
 
 1875... 
 
 157 167,722.15 
 
 7,028,521.80 
 
 447 
 
 
 
 1876 
 
 148,071,984.61 
 
 6,704,858.09 
 
 4.53 
 
 H 
 
 1877 
 
 130,956,493.07 
 
 6,501,037.57 
 
 4.96 
 
 
 1878 
 
 130,170,680.20 
 
 5,826,974.32 
 
 447 
 
 
 1879 
 
 137.250,047.70 
 
 5,477,421.52 
 
 3.99 
 
 
 1880 
 
 186,522,064.60 
 
 6,023,253.53 
 
 3.23 
 
 
 1881 
 
 198 159076.02 
 
 6,383,288.10 
 
 3.22 
 
 
 1882 
 
 220,410,730.25 
 
 6,506,359.26 
 
 2.95 
 
 
 1883... 
 
 214,706,496.93 
 
 6,593,509.43 
 
 3.07 
 
 
 1863... 
 
 $37,640,787.95 
 
 $108,685.00 
 
 0.29 
 
 
 1864 
 
 109,741,134.10 
 
 251,172.99 
 
 0.23 
 
 
 1865... 
 
 209,464,215.25 
 
 385,239.52 
 
 0.18 
 
 
 1866 
 
 309,226,813.42 
 
 5,783,128.77 
 
 1.87 
 
 ^ 
 
 1867 
 
 266,027,537.43 
 
 7,335,029.81 
 
 2.77 
 
 55 
 
 1868 
 
 191,087,589.41 
 
 8,705,366.36 
 
 4.55 
 
 a 
 
 1869... 
 
 158,356,460.86 
 
 7,257,176.11 
 
 4-59 
 
 > 
 
 y 
 
 1870... 
 
 184,899,756.49 
 
 7,253,439.81 
 
 3.92 
 
 2: 
 
 1871... 
 
 141,098,151.61 
 
 7,593,714.17 
 
 5.30 
 
 _; 
 
 1872..., 
 
 130,642,177.72 
 
 5,694,116.86 
 
 4.36 
 
 < -j 
 
 1873 .. 
 
 1 11,729 314.14 
 
 5,340,230.00 
 
 4.69 
 
 55 
 
 1874 
 
 102,409,784.90 
 
 4,509,976.05 
 
 4.40 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 1875 
 
 1 10,007,493.58 
 
 4,289,442.71 
 
 3-89 
 
 H 
 
 1876 
 
 116,700,732.03 
 
 3,942,613.72 
 
 3-38 
 
 S5 
 
 1877 
 
 118,630,407.83 
 
 3,556,943.85 
 
 2.99 
 
 
 1878 
 
 110,581,624.74 
 
 3,280,162 22 
 
 2.96 
 
 U 
 
 W 
 
 1879 
 
 113,561,610.58 
 
 3,527,956.56 
 
 3-i6 
 
 H 
 
 1880 
 
 124,009,373 92 
 
 3,657,105.10 
 
 2-95 
 
 
 1881 
 
 115,264,185.51 
 
 4,327,793.24 
 
 1.20 
 
 
 1882 
 
 146,497,595.45 
 
 4,097,241.34 
 
 2-79 
 
 
 1883 
 
 144,720,368.98 
 
 4^24,707,39 
 
 3-05
 
 PUBLIC DEBT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 667 
 
 PUBLIC DEBT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 To January ist of each year to 1842. To July ist,from 
 
 I79 1 75,463,476 5 2 
 
 1792 77,227,9 2 4 66 
 
 1793 80,352,634 
 
 1794 78,427,404 
 
 1795 80,747,58? 
 
 1796 83,762,172 
 
 i?97 82,064,479 
 
 1798 79,228,529 
 
 1799 78,408,669 
 
 i8oo 82,976,294 
 
 1801 83,038,050 
 
 1802 86,712,632 
 
 1803 77,054,686 
 
 1804 86,427,120 
 
 1805 82,312,150 
 
 1806 75,723,270 
 
 1807 69,218,398 
 
 1808 65,196,317 
 
 1809 57,023,192 
 
 1810 53, 1 73,2 17 
 
 1811 48,005,587 
 
 1812 45,209,737 
 
 1813 55,962,827 
 
 1814 81,487,846 
 
 1815 99,833,660 
 
 1816 127,334,933 
 
 1817 123,491,965 
 
 1818 103,466,633 
 
 1819 95,529,648 
 
 1820 91,015,566 
 
 1821 '.... 89,987,427 
 
 1822 93,546,676 
 
 1823 90,875,877 
 
 1824 90,269,777 
 
 1825 83,788,432 
 
 1826 81,054,059 
 
 1827 : 73,987,357 
 
 1828 67,475,043 
 
 1829 58,421,413 
 
 1830 48,565,406 
 
 1831 39,123,191 
 
 1832 24,322,235 
 
 1833 7,001,698 
 
 1834 4,760,082 
 
 1835 37,513 
 
 1836 336,957 
 
 1837 3,308,124 
 
 $10,434,221 14 
 
 l8 39 3,573,343 82 
 
 , l8 40 5,250,875 54 
 
 77 1841 1... I3,594,48o 73 
 
 3911842 20,601,226 28 
 
 07 1843 32,742,922 oo 
 
 33 '844 : 23,461,652 50 
 
 12 1845 I 59 2 5,3O3 01 
 
 77 1846 15,550,202 97 
 
 35 1847 38,826,534 77 
 
 80)1848 47,044,862 23 
 
 25 1849 63,061,858 69 
 
 !850 63,452,773 55 
 
 1851 68,304,796 02 
 
 501852 66,199,34! 71 
 
 "'853 59,803,117 70 
 
 1854 42,242,222 42 
 
 1855 -. 35,586,858 5 6 
 
 856 31,972,537 90 
 
 1857 28,699,831 85 
 
 1858 44,911,881 03 
 
 1859 58,496,837 88 
 
 1860 64,842,287 88 
 
 1861 90,580,873 72 
 
 1862 524,176,412 13 
 
 1863 1,119,772,138 63 
 
 1864 1,815,784,370 57 
 
 1865 2,680,647,869 74 
 
 1866 2,773,236,173 69 
 
 15 1867 2,678,126,103 87 
 
 661868 2,611,687,851 19 
 
 98 1869 2,588,452,213 94 
 
 28 1870.... 2,480,672,427 81 
 
 77 1871 2,353,211,332 32 
 
 ?i 1872 2,253,251,328 78 
 
 04 
 
 30 
 
 99 
 
 1873 ................... 2,234,482,993 20 
 
 1874 ................... 2,251,690,468 43 
 
 87 1875 ..... . ............. 2,232,284,531 95 
 
 67)1876 ................... 2,180,395.067 15 
 
 50 1877 ................... 2,205,301,392 10 
 
 68^878 .................. 2,256,205,892 53 
 
 18 1879 ................... 2,245,495,072 04 
 
 83 1880 .................. 2,120,415,370 63 
 
 08 1881 ...... ............ 2,069,013,569 58 
 
 05 1882 ................. 1,918,312,994 03 
 
 83 1883 ................... 1,884,171,728 07 
 
 07
 
 668 
 
 POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE HOUSE. 
 
 POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE PRESENT HOUSE OF REPRE. 
 SENTATIVES. 
 
 STATES. 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 d 
 
 V 
 
 A 
 
 STATES. 
 
 1 
 Q 
 
 * 
 
 an 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 IA 
 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 5 
 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 
 
 California 
 
 6 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 
 2 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 
 1 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 
 
 Delaware *. 
 
 i 
 
 
 New York 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 Florida . 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 8 
 
 I 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 n 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 Oregon 
 
 
 i 
 
 Indiana 
 
 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 Iowa 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 
 2 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 Louisiana. . 
 
 JE 
 
 I 
 
 Texas 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
 Maine 
 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 
 2 
 
 Maryland 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 Virginia 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 Massachusetts . "... 
 
 7 
 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 Michigan 
 
 6 
 
 e 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 
 Mississippi ... 
 
 6 
 
 
 Total... 
 
 1 08 
 
 124 
 
 Total 322 
 
 Greenback I 
 
 Vacancies... 2 
 
 325
 
 [Went into operation on the first Wednesday in March, 1789.] 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 WE, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
 union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- 
 mon defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of 
 liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Con- 
 stitution for the United States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER. 
 
 SECTION 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
 Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House 
 of Representatives. 
 
 OF THE HOrSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 SEC. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
 chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elec- 
 tors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
 most numerous branch of the State Legislature. 
 
 No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the 
 age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
 States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in 
 which he shall be chosen. 
 
 Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
 States which may be included within this Union, according to their re- 
 spective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
 number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of 
 years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. 
 The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first 
 meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent 
 term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The num- 
 ber of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but 
 each State shall have at least one Representative; and, until such enume- 
 ration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
 choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
 tions one, Connecticut five. New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania 
 eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, 
 South Carolina five and Georgia three. 
 
 When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the execu- 
 tive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 
 
 The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other offi- 
 cers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 
 
 OF THE SENATE. 
 
 SEC. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators 
 from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ; and each 
 Senator shall have one vote. 
 
 Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
 iclection, they shall be divided as equally as maybe into three classes. 
 The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
 tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth 
 year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that 
 one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by 
 resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, 
 the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the nexf 
 meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 
 
 669
 
 6/o 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age ot 
 thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States ami who 
 filial 1 not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall 
 be choM-n. 
 
 The Vice- President of the United states shall be President of the Senate, 
 but shall have no vote, unless they bo equally divided. 
 
 The Senate shall choose tin ir other officers, and havo a President [>rn 
 ti ni/>i>re, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise 
 the office of President of the 1'nited States. 
 
 The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
 sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or allirination. When tho 
 President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and 
 no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the 
 members present. 
 
 Judgment in cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to 
 removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
 honor, trust or profit, under the United States; but the party convicted 
 shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and 
 punishment according to law. 
 
 MANNER OF ELECTING MEMBERS. 
 
 SEC. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators 
 and Representatives, shall be prescribed In each State by the Legislature 
 thereof: but the Congress may at any time, by law. make or alter such 
 regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. 
 
 CONGRESS TO ASSEMBLE ANNUALLY. 
 
 The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such moot- 
 ing shall be on -the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
 appoint a different day. 
 
 POWERS. 
 
 SEC. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns apd quali- 
 fications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a 
 3uorum to do business: but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
 ay, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
 in Mich manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. 
 
 Each house may determine the rulesof its proceedings, punish its mem- 
 bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
 expel a member. 
 
 Each house shall keep a Journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
 time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, 
 require secrecy; and the yea-; and nays of the members of either house 
 on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered 
 on the journal. 
 
 Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without tho con- 
 sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
 than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 
 
 COMPENSATION, ETC., OF MEMBERS. 
 
 REP. fi. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation 
 for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury 
 of the United States. They shall in all easses, except treason, felony and 
 breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
 --ion of their respective houses, and in going to and returning from 
 the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be 
 questioned in any other plaee. 
 
 No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was 
 elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
 Stati-s, which shall have been created, or the emolument's whereof shall 
 have been lncrea-. ( -d during such time; and no person holding any office 
 under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his 
 continuance in office. 
 
 MANKTTR OF PASSING BILLS, ETC. 
 
 Srr. 7. All bills for rai>ing revenue shall originate in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on 
 wther bills.
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
 the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of 
 the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return 
 it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who 
 shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon- 
 sider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall 
 agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
 other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved 
 by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases 
 the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the 
 names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on 
 the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
 by the President within ten days (Sunday excepted) after it shall have 
 been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had 
 signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in 
 which case it shall not be a law. 
 
 Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate 
 and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
 adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the United States; 
 and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being 
 disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre- 
 scribed in the case of a bill. 
 
 POWER OF CONGRESS. 
 
 SEc. 8. The Congress shall have (power to lay and collect taxes, duties, 
 imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense 
 and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and 
 excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 
 
 To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 
 
 To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
 States, and with the Indian tribes; 
 
 To establish an uniform rule of .naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
 subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 
 
 To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and flx 
 the standard of weights and measures; 
 
 To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
 rent coin of the United States; 
 
 To establish post-offices and post-roads; 
 
 To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited 
 times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
 writings and discoveries ; 
 
 To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court- 
 
 To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
 and offenses against the law of nations; 
 
 To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
 concerning captures on land and water; 
 
 To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
 shall be for a longer term than two years; 
 
 To provide and maintain a navy; 
 
 To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
 
 To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
 suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 
 
 To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for 
 governing such part of them as maybe employed in the service of tlv 
 United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
 officers, and the authority of training the militia according the discipline 
 prescribed by Congress; 
 
 To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such dis- 
 trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
 States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
 of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places pur- 
 chased bv the consent of the Legisiature of the State in which the same 
 shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards and otb< 
 needful buildings; and 
 
 To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
 execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Cou-
 
 6/2 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
 officer thereof. 
 
 LIMITATION OF THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 
 
 SEC. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States 
 now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the 
 Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a 
 tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol- 
 lars for each person. 
 
 The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
 when in case < nf rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 
 
 No bill of attainder or expost facto law shall be passed. 
 
 No capitation, or other direct" tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
 the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 
 
 No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 
 
 No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
 to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to, 
 or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear or pay duties in another. 
 
 No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of 
 appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the 
 receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from 
 time to time. 
 
 No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no. person 
 holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent 
 of the Congress, accept of any' present, emolument, office or title, of any 
 kind whatever, from any king, prince or foreign State. 
 
 LIMITATION OF THE POWERS OF THE INDIVIDUAL STATES. 
 
 SEC. 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation; 
 grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money: emit bills of credit; 
 make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; 
 pass any hill of attaindi -r, > r /inxt fm-tn law, or law impairing the obligation 
 of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 
 
 No siate shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or 
 duties on imports or exports, except what may oe absolutely necessary 
 for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of ail duties anil 
 imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the 
 treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the re- 
 vision and control of the Congress. 
 
 No State shall, without the consent of Congres , lay any duty of tonnage, 
 keep troops, or hips of war, In time of peace, enter into any agreement or 
 compact with another State, or wit h a foreign power, or engage in war, 
 unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of 
 delay. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 EXECUTIVE POWER. 
 
 SEC. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United 
 States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, 
 and together with the Vice- President, chosen for the same term, be elected 
 as follows : 
 
 MANNER OF ELECTING. 
 
 Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may 
 direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and 
 Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; hut 
 no senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit 
 under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 
 
 The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
 two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant with the 
 same State as themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons 
 voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they shall si-rn 
 and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
 I'nited states, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of 
 the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tive", open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
 per -on having the greatest number of votes shall he the President, it" such 
 number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
 there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 673 
 
 number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
 choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person have -a 
 majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in 
 like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the 
 votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having 
 one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
 from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be 
 necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the 
 person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the 
 Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal 
 V>tes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President. 
 
 TIME OP CHOOSING ELECTORS. 
 
 The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
 day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
 throughout the United States. 
 
 WHO ELIGIBLE. 
 
 No person except a natural bom citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
 at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
 office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
 shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen 
 years a resident within the United States. 
 
 WHEN THE PRESIDENT'S POWER DEVOLVES ON THE VICE-PRESIDENT. 
 
 In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resig- 
 nation or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, 
 the same shall devolve on the Vice-president, and the Congress may by 
 law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both 
 of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act 
 as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be 
 removed, or a President shall be elected. 
 
 PRESIDENT'S COMPENSATION. 
 
 The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
 tion which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
 for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that 
 period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 
 
 OATH. 
 
 Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
 oath or affirmation : " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
 execute the office of President of the United States, and wiU, to the best 
 of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
 
 States." 
 
 POWERS AND DUTIES. 
 
 SEC. 2. The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the army and 
 navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States when 
 called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the 
 opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive de- 
 partments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
 offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences 
 against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 
 
 He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 to make treaties, provided two- thirds of the Senators present concur; and 
 he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, Judges of 
 the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose ap- 
 pointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be 
 established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
 such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the 
 Courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 
 
 The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
 during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall ex- 
 pire at the end of their next session. 
 
 SEC. 3. He shall, from time to .time, give to the Congress information of 
 the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such mea-
 
 674 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 Biyes as he shall Judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary 
 occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree- 
 ment, between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
 adjourn them to such time as he sliall think proper; lie shall receive am- 
 bassadors n ml other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be 
 faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United 
 States. 
 
 OFFICERS UKMOVED. 
 
 S i-:r. I. The President, Vice-President., and all civil officers of the I'nited 
 States, shall be removed from office, on Impeachment for, and conviction 
 of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 OF THE JUDICIARY. 
 
 SEC. 1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
 Supreme Court, and in such Inferior Courts as the Congress may from time 
 to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and infe- 
 rior Courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at 
 stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not bo 
 diminished during their continuance in office. 
 
 SKC. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, In law and oqu it; y, 
 arising under this Constitution, the laws of the I "ni ted. States, and treaties 
 made, or which sliall be made, under their authority ; "to all cues affecting 
 ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty 
 and maritime Jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United States 
 shall he a party; to controversies between two or more states; between 
 a State and citizens of another State; between citizens of different States; 
 bet ween citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different 
 States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
 citizens or subjects. 
 
 TtTRISDICTTOX OF SUPREME COURT. 
 
 In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
 and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme ( 'otirt shall have 
 original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme 
 Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such 
 exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 
 
 OF TRIADS FOR CRIMES. 
 
 The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
 and such trial shall be held In the State where the said crimes shall have 
 been commuted; but when not committed within any State, the trial 
 shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 
 
 OF TREASON. 
 
 SEC. 3. Treason against the United states shall consist only in levying 
 war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
 comfort. 
 
 No person sliall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two 
 witnesses to tne same overt act, or on confession in open < 'ourt. 
 
 The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
 but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, 
 except during the life of the person attainted. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 STATE ACTS. 
 
 SEC. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
 acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Con- 
 gress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner In which such acts, 
 records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof 
 
 PRIVILEGES OF CITI/K.NS. 
 
 S !:. '_'. The citi/ens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
 im in unities of citi/ens in the several States. 
 
 A person charged in any Stale with tnmson, felony or other crime, who 
 bha.ll flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of
 
 OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 675 
 
 the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, 
 to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 
 
 RUNAWAYS TO BE DELIVERED UP. 
 
 No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
 escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation 
 therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered 
 up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 
 
 NEW STATES. 
 
 SEC. 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Unio . ; 
 but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
 other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, 
 or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States 
 concerned as well as of the Congress. 
 
 TERRITORIAL AND OTHER PROPERTY. 
 
 The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules 
 and regulations respecting, the territory, or other property belonging to 
 the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed 
 as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 
 
 SEC. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a 
 republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against 
 invasion; and, on application of the Legislature, or of the Executive 
 (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic. violence. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 AMENDMENTS. 
 
 The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it neces- 
 sary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution ; or, on the applica- 
 tion of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a 
 Convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be 
 valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified 
 by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by Conven- 
 tions in three- fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification 
 may be proposed by Congress; provided, that no amendment which may 
 be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in 
 any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth Section of the 
 first Article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of 
 its equal suffrage iu the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 DEBTS. 
 
 All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
 of this Constitution, shall be as valid .against the United States under this 
 Constitution as under the Confederation. 
 
 SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND. 
 
 This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
 made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
 under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
 land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in 
 the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 OATH. NO RELIGIOUS TEST. 
 
 The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members 
 of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, 
 both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath 
 or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever 
 be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, under the 
 United States. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 The ratifications of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
 the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the 
 same. 
 
 Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present,
 
 6;6 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 Hi.- ^.\. !)(. nth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United 
 States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto sub- 
 scribed our names. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 
 President, and Deputy from Virginia. 
 
 Nnp Hampshire John Langdon, Nicholas Oilman. Massachusetts *$a,- 
 thaniel Gorham, Rufus Kiiij^. Connecticut William Samuel Johnson, 
 Roger Hherman. Xew York Alexander Hamilton. Neiv Jersey William 
 Livingston, David Brearley, William Patterson, Jonathan Dayton. Penn- 
 xi/ti-iutiu Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George 
 Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, Jared Ingersoll. James Wilson, Govonn'iir 
 Morris. Delaware George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, 
 Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. Mari/lanrl James M'Henry, Daniel of St. 
 Tho. Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. Vin/inia John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 
 North Carolina William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaiirht, Hugh William- 
 son. Smith fariiUnn John Rutledge. Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles 
 Pinckney, Pierce Butler. Georgia William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 
 
 Attest WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 
 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 [The first- ten amendments were proposed by Congress at their first session, in 
 1789. The eleventh was proposed in 1794, and'the twelfth in 1803.] 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION. 
 
 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
 prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, 
 or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
 petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 RIGHT TO BEAR \ KM-. 
 
 A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, 
 the right cf the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 NO SOLDIER TO BK BILLETED, ETC. 
 
 No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the 
 consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed 
 by law. 
 
 ARTICLE FV. 
 
 UNREASONABLE SEARCHES PROHIBITED. 
 
 The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and 
 effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; 
 and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath 
 or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and 
 the persons or things to be seized. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise Infamous 
 crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in 
 IM-I'- arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual 
 service, in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject 
 for the same offense to be put twice in Jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall 
 be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor 
 be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor 
 hall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
 
 OF THE UNITED STA TES. 
 
 677 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 MODE OF TRIAL. 
 
 In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
 and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the 
 crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previ- 
 ously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of 
 the.aecusation; to be confronted with the witnesses' against him; to have 
 compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the 
 assistance of counsel for his defense. 
 
 ARTICLE Vn. 
 
 EIGHT OF TRIAL BY JURY. 
 
 In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
 twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact 
 tried by jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United 
 States than according to the rules of the common law. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 BAIL. FINES. 
 
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
 truel and unusual punishments inflicted. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 RIGHTS NOT ENUMERATED. 
 
 The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be con- 
 strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 POWERS RESERVED. 
 
 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 
 prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to 
 the people. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 LIMITATION OF JUDICIAL POWER. 
 
 The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
 to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
 United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of 
 another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State.. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 ELECTION OF PRESIDENT. 
 
 The electors shall meet in their respective States, a'riti vote by ballot for 
 President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an in- 
 habitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their 
 ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
 voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists of all per- 
 sons voted for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, 
 and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, 
 and transmit sealed to the seat of the Government of the United States, 
 directed to the President of the Senate; the President of the Senate shall, 
 in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 'open all the 
 certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the 
 greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such 
 number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if 
 no person have such a majority, then from the persons having the highest 
 numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, 
 the House of Representatives shall choose immediately by ballot the 
 President. But in choosing the President, the vote shall be taken by 
 States, the representatives from each State having one vote; a quorum 
 for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of 
 the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. 
 And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President when- 
 ever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of 
 March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, aa
 
 6;8 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 in the case of the death or other Constitutional disability of the Pi. M, 
 dent. 
 
 The person liavinu t hi- Create- 1 number of votes :is Vice- President shall 
 he the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole n umber 
 of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
 i w o 1 1 i ghest numbers on the 1 1st, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; 
 a (|iiorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number 
 ot Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be nocssary to a 
 choice. 
 
 But no person Constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall 
 be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. 
 
 [Ratified in 1865.] 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 SKC. 1. Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish- 
 ment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall 
 exist within the United States, or any place subject to their Jurisdiction. 
 
 si c . _>. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
 legislation. 
 
 [Ratified in 1868.] 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 SEC. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject 
 to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United states, and of the 
 State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which 
 shall abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United 
 states. Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, 
 without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
 the equal protection of the laws. 
 
 SKC. '2. Representatives shall he apportioned among the several States 
 according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- 
 sons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed; but .whenever the right 
 to vote at any election for electors of President and Vice-President, or 
 United States Representatives in Congress, executive and judicial officers, 
 or the members of the Legislature therof, is denied to any of the male in- 
 habitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the 
 United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion 
 or other crimes, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the 
 proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the 
 whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in that state. 
 
 SKC. :?. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, 
 elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or mili- 
 tary, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously 
 taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer or the United 
 States, or as a member of any state Legislature, or as an executive or judi- 
 cial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, 
 shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
 aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; but Congress may, by a vote of two- 
 thirds of each House, remove such disability. 
 
 SKC. 4. The validitv of the public debt of the United States authorized 
 by law, including debts incurred for the payment of pensions and bounties 
 for service in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques- 
 tioned: but neither the united states nor any State shall assume to pay 
 any debt or obligation Incurred In aid of insurrection or rebellion against 
 the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slavii, 
 but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be Illegal and void. 
 
 SKC. ">. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legis- 
 lation, the provisions of this article. 
 
 [Ratified in 1870.] 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 SKC. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
 denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of 
 race, color or previous condition of servitude. 
 
 SEC. 2. The Congress shall have power to euforce this Article by appro- 
 priate legislation-

 
 p -, 
 
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